Degree Show 2026
Elizabeth Boardman
BA Art and Design
My practice sits between art and design, exploring sustainable and reclaimed materials, cultural heritage and viewer interactivity. This year my work has focused on reed, investigating what one natural material can become when approached with sustained attention.
Reedbed is a large-scale lighting installation made from wood, reed, calico and cheesecloth. Six moveable screens surround a central hanging lamp. There is no correct configuration, the work is completed by whoever moves through it.
A table lamp made from reed bundles woven around a wooden frame. Light passes through the gaps between the reeds, producing a warm and irregular glow. Weaving is traditionally associated with basketry and craft whereas here I have recontextualised it as a contemporary lighting form.
A lamp made from handmade paper embedded with reed, pulped from reclaimed tissue paper. The reed fibres visible within the paper become luminous under light, the frame veneered with reclaimed wood.