Louise Ockenden: Celestial

About the artist

Louise Ockenden is a West London-based artist and educator whose work centres on the tactile language of blind embossing and layered paper cutting. A graduate of Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, Ockenden avoids the use of ink, relying instead on the interplay of light and shadow to define her imagery. Her embossing process involves hand-cutting relief plates that are run through an etching press with 600gsm paper, resulting in sculptural, inkless imprints where every cut becomes a raised, physical gesture.

This focus on the inconspicuous is mirrored in her paper cutting practice. Drawing inspiration from architectural structures and domestic interiors, such as scaffolding, tiling, and decorative fabrics, Ockenden uses repetitive hand-cutting to remove sections of paper. In these works, the act of removal is as significant as the material that remains. By layering these cut sheets, she incorporates shadow as a functional element, blurring the lines between structure and absence.

The visibility of Ockenden’s work shifts throughout the day, behaving as a non-static surface that changes according to ambient light and the viewer’s position. Her practice explores geometric form and optical illusion, aiming to find a meeting point between the mundane and the wondrous.

Ockenden has been frequently selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, as well as exhibited at the ING Discerning Eye, Wells Contemporary, and the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair.