Alison Griffin graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Central Saint Martin's in 2012 and has
exhibited widely in group shows in the UK and further afield, most recently at Mandell’s Gallery,
Norwich, Holt Festival, North Norfolk and the Mall Galleries in London with the SGFA in
2024/23/22/21. Shortlisted for The Sir John Hurt Art Prize 2024. She is represented by
Cavaliero Finn and was elected an Associate Member of the SGFA (Society of Graphic Fine Art)
in 2023. Griffin has work in private collections nationally and internationally and currently lives
and works in Norwich, Norfolk.
1. Could you explain your practice?
My practice is based around drawing, mostly working in pencil, often combining this with oil
paint, watercolour and pastels, although I also love the effect of just the pencil on paper and
letting the surface of the paper be part of the work. My current work explores my relationship
with memory, landscape and place and can feature both the rural and built environments and
my everyday surroundings. The landscape resonates with the echoes and memories of the
past. I try to capture the beauty of nature but also the uneasy atmosphere of edge of town
hinterlands. In doing so I'm taken on a journey of reflection and contemplation; memories are
delicately woven into the intricate patterns and shapes of my surroundings and every mark I
draw becomes a moment of total absorption and every detail imbued with my past and the
potential of what could have been.
I work from my own photographs, a collection of images from my childhood up to the present
day. I'm constantly rummaging and scrolling through this collection, zooming in and cropping.
This process acts as both a resource and incitement to reverie, resulting in images which act
like snapshots of fragmented memories - the format reminiscent of a time when photographs
were printed and treasured. The intimate and familiar scenes are taken out of context and
combined with the tone of the pencil give the images a sense of ‘otherness,
’ a sense of longing,
a yearning. I hope the work provokes a similar reaction in the viewer, feelings of nostalgia,
ruminations on the past, and collective memories.
2. Is art relevant today?
I hope so! I think art has the power to distract and take a person out of the moment, out of
themselves. It gives a person the permission and power to dream, and these are all hugely
important for mental health and well-being, especially when times are hard. Art also has the
power to move, to create new emotions, and revisit old and buried emotions, and this makes it
an instrument of expression of the human condition. It's never been more important for art to be
accessible to all. It can feel very self-indulgent spending time making art so it's good to think about this question every so often, especially when it feels like the world is going to hell in a
handbasket!
3. We are always asked what other artists influence us, we want to know what art you don't
like and which influences you?
I'm inspired by so much, the natural world is a huge influence in my work and my life and I'll
never tire of drawing the patterns of branches and trees and other organic forms; drawing nature
is as much of a form of escapism for me as actually being in it. I'm also hugely passionate about
environmental issues and studied Environmental Biology at the University before attending CSM to
study Fine Art and my work often addresses issues affecting the rural landscape, issues that are
all the more pertinent having recently returned to live in Norfolk - an area and landscape that is
well known for being intensively farmed and managed.
Music is also important, I love Bright Eyes, First Aid Kit and Phoebe Bridgers amongst many
others and have always needed music as an accompaniment to drawing. I've always felt that I
want to make work as moving and haunting as a Bright Eyes album is to me but I'm still yet to
get anywhere close! I love reading too and lyrics and literature are common sources of
inspiration for the titles of my work.
In terms of artists, David Hockney and George Shaw are two of my favourites. I particularly love
Hockney's series of 25 drawings of Woldgate in Yorkshire,
“The Arrival of Spring” from 2013. I
get lost in the delicate marks he uses to depict snow, grass clumps, budding leaves and
shadows - although delicate there is an exuberance in the mark making and you can feel these
drawings are a love letter to the area, there is a sense of colour of the seasons even though
they are made in charcoal. I was very lucky to see these exhibited at the Louisiana Museum of
Modern Art in Copenhagen in 2013.
George Shaw is fascinating, the compositions and framing of the scenes he captures - drawing
attention to graffiti-covered dead ends, overlooked nowhere places and litter-strewn neglected
areas that we all recognise and generally tend to hurry through. But the familiarity of these
scenes make the viewer feel connected to these forgotten places and our memories are stirred
into a strange sense of nostalgia for all these disregarded and depreciated places of our past.
In terms of art I don't like, that is difficult! I don't love art that is too twee or cutesy, but I also
think it has a place and relevance and can appreciate the skill involved in creating it, it just
leaves me a bit cold.
4. If you could go back 10-20 years what would you tell your younger self?
Keep working hard, keep persevering, don't give up when things get tough, and stay true to
yourself. I think I would also tell myself to try to think a bit more objectively about decisions that
can affect your future career, but that's where hindsight is very useful!
5. If you go forward 10-20 years what do you hope to have done or not done?
I'd love to have the opportunity of a solo show and it would be really exciting to curate an
exhibition but most of all I hope that I'm lucky enough to still be able to spend time making art, I
know it's a real privilege and I never take it for granted.