Alysn Midgelow-Marsden is an Auckland based artist with a northern European heritage. Her practice creates an invitation for you to experience personal connections through viscerally emotive interactions. The work is driven by curiosity about science, the psyche and the marine environment, and are marked visually by a complex and raw yet lyrical fluidity.
Alysn’s works stretch traditional definitions of media and dissolve boundaries between sculpture, installation and video works, often incorporating metal, wire, fibre, textile and stitch.

A fascination with abstract expressionism and portraying emotional energies delivers work which is personal yet universal. She draws on transformation and change, the mystery and potentiality of the hidden and unseen. By engaging with the space between our conscious and unconscious minds and disrupting the boundaries between knowledge and emotion through dramatic, contemplative and visually stunning artworks, she walks a narrow path between concept and aesthetics.
She has been described as an energiser and inspirer for her art making and her teaching practice.
Alysn says: “There are two major factors in my life which ran side by side for many years, moved apart and are now intertwined once again.
The first is that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t spend time ‘making’, or stitching. These efforts were not always successful, but we all have to start somewhere! As I grew older my creative efforts included painting and poetry but always included fibre arts. The second major influence is a combination of biochemistry, marine biology and conservation which were my degree subjects. I think that my approach to my art and my world view is informed by the investigative, experimental exploration which is the basis of the scientific method.
Since living at the coast, I have been re-united with the coastal environment. Over the last 18 months my work has been concentrating on the themes of place, culture and stereotypes associated with textiles; and the coastal and marine environment – it’s beauty, raw energy and challenges.”

Recent awards for selected exhibitions include: Mandurah Wearable Art (Australia) for ‘What Lies Beneath’; ‘Wall Brooches II’, (Australia) for ‘Taniwha’; ‘Changing Threads’ Nelson Arts ‘Bernina Award’ for ‘The Space Between VII’.

*Please Note: The artwork displayed on this page is an example of this artists portfolio in the OBV Gallery.