Maddie Rock

artist statement

Growing up in Bradford, my curiosity led me to roam nearby wastelands—forgotten edges of the city where nature quietly reclaimed space. These early explorations sparked a fascination with the natural world. Now based in rural Somerset, my work remains rooted in close observation and a deep connection with place.

My creative process begins outdoors: walking, sensing, sketching, and photographing. These attentive experiences feed into the collagraph prints I make. Working directly onto card, I build richly textured printing plates and print onto various papers, using ink, embossing, layering and chine collé.

This year, my practice has shifted, reconnecting with my background in sculpture. I have begun to move beyond the flat plane of print: scaling up and experimenting with three-dimensional forms.

Treating prints not as final outcomes but as materials in themselves, has enabled me to experiment with installation. Influenced by years tending a ten-acre Japanese garden for National Trust, my recent work embraces a pared-back aesthetic inspired by traditional oriental sensibilities. Printing onto translucent, lightweight surfaces allows me to layer and float images, inviting in light and movement—echoing komorebi, the dappled light through trees.

I am drawn to twisting trees, intricate lichens, wind in the canopy, and waves at the shoreline. These immersive encounters guide my responses. Each piece becomes a quiet record of fleeting moments and a response to the fragility and subtle beauty of landscape. My practice continues to evolve as an exploration of printmaking and as a personal meditation on place, impermanence and presence.

artist gallery