SOPHIE LAYTON

Sophie is an innovative, energetic person. Her time is divided between sketching in the attic space of her home in South London and creating in the print workshop at her studio in Brixton. “I love the physical and intellectual process of printmaking; the way results build up and ideas emerge onto paper, demanding constant decision-making.”

After graduating from Brighton University in 2009 she was awarded a residency at London Metropolitan University and later at the Scuola di Graphica in Venice. Sophie enjoys film, travel and taking photos, which often feed their way into her work. Her dynamic artworks are exhibited in the UK and internationally.

During 2011, in order to explore a more dynamic graphic approach she took a course in photo-etching. 'My photo-etched work is a response to living in London and visiting Japan’ she says. ‘The images describe synthetic light; neon and signage, each print comprising sparse edited imagery. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Caulfield and Warhol I use block mono-printed colour to evoke feeling. Composition and negative space in the form of bare paper are exploited to create balance and impact, while the narrative and perspective within the artwork is expressed through photo-etched imagery - selection and editing are crucial.