Alice Fox - ‘Flaxen’ exhibition in Lisburn

‘Flaxen’ features acclaimed textile artist Alice Fox and presents her new body of work celebrating the flax plant. It showcases a collection of woven pieces on a variety of scales incorporating flax at various stages, from whole dried stems to unspun fibre, and exploring both the plant’s strength and fragility in a textured, structural celebration of flax.

This new body of work is the result of Fox’s learning about and experimenting with growing flax and transforming it into fibres. Since 2017, Alice has been growing small plots of flax on her West Yorkshire allotment, gradually deepening her understanding of how growing and retting conditions affect the fibre.

In 2024, she led a larger, collaborative flax-growing project at Kestle Barton in Cornwall, cultivating a 200-square-metre crop with the help of staff and volunteers. By sowing flax on the same day at both sites - 400 miles apart - she created an opportunity to compare environmental impacts on the plant.

‘Flaxen’ is supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (principal funder). The exhibition is part of the Linen Biennale, a festival celebrating linen, past, present and future, with initiatives across Northern Ireland by R-Space and other partner organisations. The Esmé Mitchell Trust supported R-Space’s work for this festival.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Alice Fox to Northern Ireland for her first solo exhibition here,” says Meadhbh McIlgorm, Linen Biennale Programme Manager at R‑Space Gallery.

“Her work is a rare combination of craft, ecology, and experimentation. Visitors will experience how traditional textile techniques can reveal the beauty and resilience of plants like flax, while also encouraging reflection on sustainability, environment and our relationship with the material world.”

ALICE FOX - Alice Fox is an accomplished textile artist. Her process-led practice is based on personal engagement with landscape, has sustainability at its heart, and is underpinned by her background in physical geography and nature conservation. She works with natural fibres and found items, employing and experimenting with natural dyes, stitch, weave and basketry techniques. Fox works from her allotment and studio in Saltaire, England. She exhibits, lectures and teaches workshops nationally and internationally, and is a published author.

R-SPACE GALLERY - R-Space is a visual arts gallery in Lisburn. Our ambition is to be a centre for excellence for the arts. We develop and deliver a high quality, innovative and imaginative arts programme encompassing exhibitions, workshops and other arts events. With our programme we strive to reach and engage people of all backgrounds and abilities, and break down barriers that prevent those in greatest need to experience the arts. https://www.rspacelisburn.com/