Coulson says: “Ellie’s work is playful and brings instant visual joy, but is also multi-layered and investigates serious and pressing contemporary issues. A fascinating aspect of Ellie’s practice is its multidisciplinary nature and her incredibly sharp harnessing of new technologies to explore the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. At YSP she aims to bring particle pollution to our attention, using augmented reality to visualise microscopic pollutants in the atmosphere.

“As tedious as it sounds, storage is a real problem for many sculptors, especially those starting out and with limited space. Sculpture can quickly fill the studio and impact on the process of making of new work. Ellie’s repurposing of elements of previous sculptures is a brilliant solution to this issue but, more importantly, it also draws attention to the materials that are wasted when they could be put to new use. This approach mirrors the environmental themes that run throughout her practice.”

Niblock, whose mum is a textile artist and dad is an improvised jazz musician, adds: “Playing with materials has been the core of my practice from the beginning at school, through collecting old threads and textiles from my mum’s collection and turning them into something new and weird and being encouraged to make art with no boundaries. Hearing my dad play free improvising music every day from his music room has contributed to my approach to making art – being spontaneous and completely open to whatever happens in that moment, trusting your intuition and allowing the medium to lead the way.”

‘V!sualeyez’ by Niblock will combine 3D digital animation and tactile sculpture and will be created on site at YSP. You can also catch her most ambitious installation, created for the Sky Arts Landmark series, which she represented Northern Ireland on in 2021, at FE McWilliams Gallery in Banbridge, Northern Ireland.