Lilah Fowler

Lilah Fowler is a British-Japanese artist and Associate Professor at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, where she has taught Fine Art Sculpture across undergraduate, MA, and PhD levels since 2010. She is also an external examiner for BA(Hons) Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, and has served as a visiting lecturer at institutions including Wimbledon School of Art, University for the Creative Arts, UCL's Department of Mathematics, and Hong Kong Baptist University. As a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy since 2014, she bridges academic rigor with contemporary art practice.

Fowler's research explores the intersection of digital, analogue, and organic methods, moving fluidly between hand-weaving, ceramics, algal growths, and bespoke image-generating software. Her work investigates the geopolitics of hyper-landscapes, focusing on how infrastructure shapes our environment and experience. She examines the potential for abstraction inherent in any medium and the possibilities of translation between materials along the spectrum from plastic to pixel. Her practice is deeply collaborative, frequently engaging with researchers from diverse fields including mycology, plant science, biochemistry, quantum physics, computer programming, mathematics, and traditional weaving.

Analysis of Fowler's recent exhibitions reveals consistent themes of material transformation, cultural hybridity, and the relationship between digital systems and physical landscapes. Her work often draws on Japanese arts and crafts traditions while addressing contemporary issues of identity, colonial legacies, and environmental change. The progression from early explorations of spatial perception to more recent large-scale public commissions demonstrates an evolving focus on community engagement and the political dimensions of public space.

Fowler's teaching and practice are characterized by a commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and experimental methodologies. She has developed significant partnerships with institutions including Meta (for the 'Cloudbursts' commission), Firstsite Colchester, and various public spaces across the UK. Her public artworks, such as 'Migrations' in Cambridge (2024), 'Commonplace' in London (2017), '14537/9431' in Bristol (2017), and 'Lantern Forest' at Whipps Cross Hospital (2020), demonstrate her ability to create meaningful interventions in diverse urban contexts.

Her studio practice operates at the intersection of traditional craft techniques and cutting-edge digital technologies, creating installations that challenge viewers' perceptions of space, materiality, and cultural identity. Fowler's work frequently explores the imprint of time on objects and how this influences our relationship to both physical and digital environments. Through her teaching and practice, she continues to push the boundaries of contemporary sculpture and installation art.