Ibby Lanfear
Ibby is an artist, writer and colour maker based in the UK. Her work focusses on the interwoven narratives of the human and more-than-human through time. Deeply rooted in the particular materiality of place, Ibby’s practice of natural pigment making informs every aspect of her work. Earth, wood, stone and plants are found and foraged, grown and harvested. Soil is sifted and washed; bones charred in the absence of air; plants simmered and laked. Borrowing Donna Haraway’s concept of ‘sympoiesis’ or a ‘making with,’ the work is collaborative and relational; every piece a time specific portrait of tangled, interdependent life. Making and writing become visceral arts of ritual, recognition and remembrance; acts of care, and quiet resistance within the ‘violent unmaking’ of life in the Anthropocene.
Following a degree in Art History and English Ibby originally trained as an easel paintings’ conservator at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She holds an MA in Arts and Ecology and has exhibited throughout the UK. Her work is held in public and private collections. Recent and forthcoming publications include Wild Roof Journal, Dark Mountain and the Center for Humans and Nature. She lives in Devon.