Lily Westhoff-Watts

Art and Psychology

I am a multidisciplinary artist exploring the intersection of soft sculpture, organic growth and biological abstraction. My practice centres on the transformation of materials – utilising needle felting, rolling of felt and intricate manipulation – to create vibrant, three-dimensional sculptures that appear to colonise the gallery walls like spreading microbial blooms.

My work is defined by a diverse colour palette and a meticulous focus on materiality. By creating dense, structured felt forms, I invite a sensory tension between the domestic comfort of textiles and the vast complexity of cellular biology. Each work is the result of an additive process, much like the growth of a living organism, where individual rolls of felt and circular motifs merge to form a larger, harmonious ecosystem.

In my current body of work, which can be described as biological maximalism, by exaggerating the forms of cells, spores, and other biological structures, I challenge the viewer to find beauty in the microscopic and visceral. I intentionally move away from traditional, regular boundaries, instead opting for an irregular, sprawling silhouette that suggests the work is still in a state of growth. This lack of a fixed frame reflects my interest in the unpredictability of nature.

As an artist, I am constantly pushing the boundaries of fibre arts, moving away from flat surfaces towards immersive sculptural environments. My work serves as a tactile celebration of life’s complexity, encouraging a playful yet profound engagement with materials, while depicting a subject that makes up both our world and physical selves.

Encroachment, soft sculpture installation, needle felted and rolled material installed on a wall corner, 140 × 52 cm, 2026

Reading School of Art