We join Kent-based artist Edward Liddle in his studio to ask him some questions. His studio, tucked away in a suburb in an old 1960's warehouse, is filled with hundreds of bits of Chinese rice paper, painted on with textile patterns and then either stored in archival boxes or hung with nails and magnets. Textiles, prints, poetry and ceramic experiments are all dotted about between mugs of tea, and plates of biscuits. Ed is wearing a heavy cotton workman's jacket and some lace-up black plimsolls, and he greets us with a gruff but joking shout of "you can't park there!"

Could you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind this recent series of works that are going into your show, Fade Resistant, and how they came to be?

The works on show are primarily from the past eighteen months or so. They are works on paper, the imagery all taken from my own personal archive. I’m always collecting imagery for my archive, sometimes I take photographs and at other times I take screenshots from things im watching on tv or streaming. The archive contains a wealth of visual material and is a reflection of my fascination/being drawn to decoration and domestic motifs. The works on show at Weald Contemporary are my workings out on paper, painting the imagery from my archive. They’re incredibly personal and sort of form a non rationalised diary, however they are also hyper visual and at a remove from me. They are elusive but contain under the surface a lot of narrative, if you take some clues from the titles or if simply evoking memories for audiences.

There are so many pattens here so this must be difficult, but - what's your favourite textile pattern you've come across and why?

I really like the utilitarian textiles of buses and public transport. Legends like Margaret Gill who when creating their work had the brief of ‘highly patterned and pleasing but must hide the dirt’ – or something like that. It’s a great insight into those design and aesthetic decisions. We live with an enormous amount of designed and created visual material in our everyday lives. Often overlooked, I love the idea that my works might allow audiences to re-see the things they walk past everyday having witnessed them in my works and had a moment of recognition.
 
Are there any odd or surprising patterns painted in the exhibition that you'd like to talk about?

I love the dancing ladies. This is an example of me pinching some visual material from someone else’s archive. In the Museo Novecento in Milan, this was a scrap of paper from the personal archive of artist Alghiero Boetti. Is it a piece of wrapping paper, or maybe some clothing came wrapped in it. It has a life of which I will know very little, or if I do it will be by pure happenstance. I like the idea that someone probably in the 20th century created this motif which was turned into an object, not one of great worth but then in turn Boetti was attracted to the motif, and then the curator who decided to hang the piece in the museum, and then along I come and think ohhh that’s funky. It’s a fascinating and totally unpredictable lineage, one that straddles art, design, commerce and all the support characters that had to be in place for us to each encounter that one motif. PLUS of course it is cheeky and suggestive but also fun and a heavily loaded piece of imagery. I don’t deny it is also perhaps outdated and also sexualises women. All from a scrap of paper. And that is another layer to all the works here, imagery IS loaded and all imagery has a story or a political statement to make, if only we look and reflect and listen to it.
 
You've had a bit of time in art academia - how do you think this has influenced your practice?

I’ve always enjoyed both making creative output as well as researching and writing about it. I’d say my time in academia has encouraged me to try and approach making my work from multiple angles and to not deny the power or possible political nature of the material I’m working with. Social history is rightfully being embedded in contemporary art practices more and more. I like to think my work has something to say, something to add, but I also try not to over intellectualise the work … not until after it’s made anyway!

You also co-founded Knotworks in Tunbridge Wells, how does it work and impact upon your art?

Knot Works is an arts organisation that I co-founded with Holly Jean Crosbie and Sam Wheeler. We provide studios for artists and makers, run workshops and also programme exhibitions and host artist development events. I am always interested in trying to bring like-minded people together, to discuss share and sometimes disagree about what we’re working on. Whatever anyone says, we are always made better by engaging with others about our work.

I am adamant that the more artist studios and artistic provision there is, the better. If we want to maintain making moving, inspiring, high quality creative output we need to support and champion artists and makers. So, yeh, it’s important to me and I believe makes my own work better because I’m part of something bigger than just myself.
 

I'm interested in the way you've said these works can hang in a modular fashion; what's your approach to the idea of exhibiting, and is this intrinsic to the way you make work?

I love a process. And I find structure really useful in making work. With the modular nature of the works, it’s really satisfying to know that I just need to grab some paper and paint and crack on. I’ve found as time has gone on that in order to make work I need to reduce the possible barriers to making. But, on the other side of having made something, when the works are all interchangeable its really quite fun to play around with the modular pieces and see what happens, it’s extremely low risk because I’m not intrinsically changing the work in anyway except placing something next to something else and seeing what happens, what do they ‘say’ to one another.

What are you working on next?

Always painting more imagery from my archive. More large works on wallpaper. I am also continuing to explore new sculptural installations, much like the floor tiles I made for my exhibition Carrément at Centrale in Brussels. The works here reflect just one part of my work! Oh and I’ve been thinking a lot about how performance and writing might activate works such as the paintings and wallpapers. What are the stories that those work tell and can I be more direct with those narratives? Lots to explore!
 
Lastly, You are very much a music person; you even used to be a hospital radio DJ so this may seem impossible, but: what would be your 5 track studio playlist, and why is it Prince?

HA!

Yes always Prince. But, at the moment:

PJ Harvey – I inside the old year dying

Miles Davis – On the Corner

Blur – The ballad of Darren

Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda

Laura Marling – Song for our Daughter