Water takes hundreds of years to transform. My work holds the hope of a similar change — that through the slow, patient erosion of my past, something new can gradually emerge.
Erin Bird
Contemporary artist, UK
Erin Bird is the originator of an experimental process called waterprinting, submerging photographic prints to blend the dissolution of imagery with painterly abstraction. Her vibrant, abstract artworks intertwine personal photographs and self-portraits with expansive landscapes, situating the intimate within a wider national context. Large-scale pieces create immersive, atmospheric experiences, while collage works on silk offer more intimate and tactile engagements. Drawing on the boundary-pushing legacies of Wolfgang Tillmans and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as the transformative themes of resilience and hope in Maya Angelou’s poetry, Bird’s art transgresses the borders of rational thought and the spiritual unconscious. Through submersion—a metaphorical baptism—the representational clarity of photography dissolves into abstraction, revealing a new space where the truth of the spirit resides.
The Set, Hudson Yards, New York City
“The piece is praised for its distinctive ability to encompass fragility and boldness simultaneously”
— Melanie Lenz
Curator at the V&A, London. Judge for 2020 Lumen Prize