About Me:
Hello, I’m Libby Brooks a sculptor and abstract acrylic painter based in West Suffolk, and it’s pertinent that I grew up in an old cottage backing onto woodlands and from as early as I can remember, I was compelled to scour the place to collect things - from old clay smoking pipes to bones, stones, dug up bits of old bottles, fossils and rusty hooks from old gates - I was, and continue to be, delighted by remnants and traces of life around me.
I’m fascinated to learn about cycles, systems and processes of life, whether it be fungi networks underground or nervous systems connecting organs inside our bodies - and what I create now draws on all of this and could be described as organic and visceral.
As a bit of backstory, in the 90s I studied Fine Art at Chelsea (including a 6 month scholarship to Caracas, Venezuela) and an MA at the Royal College of Art which included a residency in Paris. My diverse career path included working in academia, flight simulation, and management within hi-tech industries including space, aerospace and security.
In 2015 I decided to leave my salaried role and made a serious return to my sculpture practice, which included casting metals from my home foundry and working in various foams, resins and plasters, and I was thrilled to be accepted into the Royal Society of Sculptors in 2023.
My current focus is painting with acrylics and most recently experimenting with a more fragile process required in working on paper as opposed to wood panels. I’m testing different shapes and scales but they’d be mostly classed as ‘small’ works. I love the energy and momentum of working in multiples, so I’ll always have 4-6 paintings on the go and my work has both visual and physical texture, that is subtle and delicate with many built up layers to create depth. I use many unconventional tools such as a plasterer’s trowel, silicone scrapers, scalpels and sandpaper to develop texture and interest.
I am interested in the challenge of provoking curiosity by portraying opposites - works appear both disconcerting like lab samples, but also have an aliveness and awareness with a sense of purpose and playfulness; they are wonky, absurd and simultaneously familiar and unknown.
Ultimately my work is about blurred boundaries between human, nature and the supernatural and I’ve also got a deep interest in spirit, life force and existence which informs my work.
I’m currently an active Committee member of Suffolk Open Studios and exhibit regularly within the county and surrounding areas, and am currently seeking for a suitable space for a substantial solo show in 2026.
