Phantasmal Gallery
Phantasmal Gallery
Lizzie Pike
ARTIST · ICICLE EXHIBITION · FEBRUARY 2026
Copse
Wool
2022-2023
120cmx96cm
£1800
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This piece comes from a story about a woman taken by a witch. The forest is dense and dark with pockets of shadow and muted greens hiding little corners. You can just make out a figure beneath the trees, almost swallowed by it all, small and vulnerable. Thinking about the witch now feels strange, knowing that most witches in history were probably innocent. It makes you rethink the story and the tension between danger and misunderstanding.
Shadowed Threshold
Wool
2023-2024
113cmx106cm
£1800
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This piece is about stepping into darker, quieter spaces. Plant shapes and leaves emerge through the work, showing the subtle shift from life to decay as greens fade into purples and greys. It’s about transformation, the cycles of growth and dying, and the quiet changes that happen in the hidden corners of the natural world.
Sub-Canopy Current
Wool, glass, plastic
2025
32x23cm
£400
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This piece is about the quiet movement and hidden life under the forest canopy. Shadows and shapes of plants are suggested with beads, giving a sense of depth and gentle motion. It’s about the unseen energy in these spaces, the life that keeps moving even when we don’t notice it.
A Little Bit About The Artist
A Statement From The Artist
Lizzie draws inspiration from her upbringing in the ancient landscapes of Wiltshire, creating intricate rugs from wool. Her practice is rooted in folklore and the personal memories of growing up surrounded by nature. Through her work, she evokes a sense of the otherworldly, blending traditional stories with reflections on environmental loss and the fragility of the natural world.
For several years, Lizzie worked in oils, exploring colour, texture, and detail. In 2020, she began hand-tufting rugs, translating her painterly approach into textiles. Each piece starts with watercolour studies and photographs, which are developed and manipulated through digital collage to expand the imagery. These studies then evolve into tactile works, with every tufted thread carefully placed, reflecting time, attention, and a deep connection to the material.
Lizzie’s rugs are spaces where imagination and reality meet. They invite viewers to consider human relationships with the natural world and the stories it holds. Each piece embodies her fascination with folklore, the passage of time, and the interconnectedness of nature, memory, and craft.
What's your fave Gothic movie?
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My favourite gothic film is The Descent. I’ve been obsessed with it since I was a teenager. I think part of why I love it is because it’s British and feels very close to home- the accents, the landscapes, the way it starts off quite ordinary and then turns horrible. When I was in primary school, we went potholing and I cried the entire time. I remember being completely overwhelmed by the dark, the wetness and how tight everything felt. Watching The Descent brings that feeling back. I do genuinely find it terrifying, but I also love being scared. I really enjoy fear and being scared when it feels rooted in familiar places.
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Who or what is the biggest influence in your practice?
Folklore is the biggest influence in my work. I grew up close to Avebury and Stonehenge, so Folklore and British history feel part of my background. After Brexit, and with the rise of right-wing rhetoric in Britain, I started to feel really disconnected with the idea of British identity and felt embarrassed by it. Looking into Folklore became away to reconnect with British culture. It gave me away to fall back in love with our landscapes and stories. Something I love about folklore is that similar stories appear all over the world, similar spirits and monsters. I find that fascinating, because it suggests that folklore and even the human story isn’t about borders so much as shared human fears, desires and ways of understanding the unknown. That’s where my work comes from, finding a way to feel connected through shared memories, landscape, stories and culture.
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