Karina Thompson is a textile artist based in Birmingham, England. She has been exhibiting her work since 1987

My work uses the technique of slashing. This is a process that involves layering fabric, stitching and then cutting through to the base material. It can then be brushed to fray it, exposing the layers below and producing velvet-like texture. I often embellish the surface further with scorching, additional stitching or the bonding of plastics onto the surface. The results are delicate, stable and surprisingly hardwearing with intricate colour mixes depending on the fabrics used.

Whilst much of my work is an exploration of technique and materials, the English countryside is often a reoccurring theme. Suggestions of landscape are a particular favourite: the ambiguity of the horizon in the twilight of dawn or dusk, ploughed earth with a heavy frost upon it, chalk hills in fog or rain, fields of wheat in the wind.

I am exploring the paradox of trying to make something beautiful with the controlled savagery of working materials to nearly the point of destruction. Through this I am seeking to produce textile wallpieces that allow the viewer the space to contemplate, reflect and then draw their own conclusions.