E L I Z A B E T H H A I G H
Photo credit Andy Haigh
My practice comes from close observation, curiosity and questioning. The landscape and all it encompasses - the topography, water, flora and fauna, converging with humanity's imprint provide starting points. From my encounters, I convert the physical and ephemeral qualities of earth, water and place into tactile works that honour the earth’s rhythms, fragility and quiet grandeur to invite contemplation and a sense of wonder.
Working across printmaking, painting, textiles and photography, I embrace an experimental approach and welcome the unexpected. One technique or process often leads to another, allowing each body of work to develop organically, together these are an important part of my creative process.
Colour is central to my practice. I move between the subtle variations I observe in nature, my intuition and the expressive. I allow colour to shift the mood and direction of a work. Materials are equally important. Paper, fabric, thread, ink, paint and even clay from my garden, each bring their own physical qualities, textures and possibilities to contribute meaning to the work.
Elizabeth
Look Listen Respond
In my Studio
Photo credit Silvi Glattauer
Elizabeth Haigh, operates from her studio on Wurundjeri country, engaging in a diverse artistic practice encompassing painting, printmaking, textiles and photography. Her creations are a narrative of contemporary existence, paying homage to the living earth's intricate rhythms and vulnerability. Haigh's work, evokes curiosity through colour, texture and form while drawing from a familial tradition of tailoring, she incorporates fibres and stitches to reveal layers of information.
A graduate of Fine Art - (Painting) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and a Graduate Diploma of Education from the University of Melbourne. Haigh has exhibited globally and has completed residencies in Argentina, Australia and Spain. A finalist for East Gippsland’s Art Gallery inaugural Michael Beazer Works on Paper Prize. Her works have found a home in exhibitions such as Dialogue Espacio in Buenos Aires, Geelong Art Space, Sydney Contemporary Works on Paper, YAVA Gallery & Arts Hub, NDSM Fuse in Amsterdam, and Lite-Haus Galerie & Projektraum in Berlin.
Haigh's extensive travels, fuelled by her passion for the arts, have taken her to major art collections and culturally and historically significant places. Committed to sharing her artistic expertise, she has served as an invited tutor with institutions such as Fibre Arts Australia, Tarrawarra Museum of Art, Baldessin Press and within her local community. In 2021, she was honoured to contribute a feature article to Women Create (US), published in Spring 2023, followed by a Q&A in January 2024 showcasing her dedication to art and environmental narratives.