Mark Lomax originally from Felixstowe, is a mixed media artist based in the Highlands of Scotland. Having started out as a ceramicist, his trademark style of filler and paint on metal shares many of the techniques and characteristics associated with textiles and fibre art.


His quilts and rug-based pieces are stitched together using wire and much of his work is influenced by the patterns and designs found in knitting, weaving and printed textiles from around the world.
The significance of the quilt in its role as a social activity, its means of construction and its global significance is important. It is a clearly identifiable object with a strong history, multiple associations and its own symbols and language. The quilt is the perfect vehicle for exploring Lomax’s interests in memory, personal and social identity, history and culture.

By utilising familiar elements that are associated with domestic objects, whether they are textile or ceramics based, it is possible to trigger or evoke memories.

'It was while researching memory failure in Alzheimer's and Dementia sufferers that I started to look at common processing and retrieval issues and memory triggers.
After working through a series of possible categories I focussed on memories based on domestic situations and everyday life.
This involves objects that we most associate with the home and family living. Included in this area are furniture, ceramics, tableware, and more importantly, textiles.
The colours and patterns used in curtains, soft furnishings, rugs, carpets, quilts and clothing are common to all of us.
The motifs and designs are constantly recycled and so historic textiles still have a relevance and familiarity today. Although multiple areas of textile design inform my work, the format of the quilt has become my most commonly recognised method of working.' ML


In contrast the blue and white pieces are based on the Maritime archaeology of Sten Sjostrand and the ceramic discoveries of the Wanli shipwreck off the coast of Malaysia.  These pieces reflect the movement and rhythms of water on fragmented blue and white shards.  The patterns and motifs on the crumpled aluminium approximate the Chinese trade ceramics of the Wanli period (1600-1627), without attempting to reproduce them directly.