insideKENT Magazine Issue 90 - September 2019 | Page 28

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
KENT ARTIST PROFILE:
SCARLETT WOODMAN
SCARLETT WOODMAN’S NAME IS AN APT ONE. WOOD – AND OTHER FOUND OBJECTS – IS
WHAT SHE OFTEN CHOOSES TO MAKE HER ART FROM, AND IT IS THIS NATURAL ELEMENT
THAT TRULY INSPIRES THE PIECES SHE CREATES. THIS MONTH, INSIDEKENT’S LISAMARIE
LAMB SPOKE TO SCARLETT ABOUT THIS AND HOW SHE MIGHT DEFINE HER OWN ART, AS WELL
AS WHAT THE KENT COUNTRYSIDE MEANS TO HER IN TERMS OF HER WORK.
If you had to define your art,
how would you describe what
you do?
My work uses found objects and a
variety of processes to explore our
relationship with the natural world. I
gather natural materials and imagery
from my surrounding landscape,
mostly just beyond my studio in the
Kentish countryside, as well as
collecting reclaimed building materials.
I then utilise a combination of both
constructive and destructive processes,
including painting, drawing, scratching
and burning, to apply this imagery
to the materials. The effect of this is
a softening, making h ard, heavy
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materials usually used for construction
appear somehow delicate. The aim of
my work is to show the strength,
beauty and resilience of nature, whilst
also acknowledging its fragility.
How did you become an artist?
I have always loved drawing and
painting, it is just what I have done
for as long as I can remember. When
I finished school I went to UCA
Canterbury to do my foundation, then
to Camberwell College of Arts to study
for a BA in painting, although I spent
most of my time working with concrete
and plants! Since finishing my degree
in 2017 I have been exhibiting as much
as possible in Kent and London.
What is the most unusual, daring, or interesting commission you’ve
ever received?
I often use corrugated iron as a material, creating pieces which I paint and then
scratch back into the surface using tiny chisels to create a drawing. Last year,
someone asked me to make a corrugated iron piece which was one metre square
and depicting a forest scene. I had to hunt the salvage yards to find a sheet of
corrugated iron wide enough and then it was incredibly time consuming covering
the whole surface! I have also just been asked to create the impression of a boat
coming out of someone’s living room wall in driftwood from Dungeness, so I
need to get beach combing!
What is it about natural materials that creates great art?
I love working with natural materials as they already have such beautiful textures,
colours and forms. They also give a piece a sense of time as they were once living
things and they have their own histories, as well as giving a weight and materiality.