We spoke to British contemporary artist and poet Claire Luxton about the unseen work that goes into an art career.

“The most important parts of your practice often grow in the dark, and this is the hardest part: to be slow and intentional.”

Claire Luxton

I live and work from my studio in East Sussex. My work lives at the intersection of fine art, photography, poetry and installation. I grew up in the countryside too, where I was always connected to nature and everything felt both wide open and quietly intense. I think that this contrast still shapes the way I see.

Photography came first as a sketch, not a technique. I was drawn to reflection, beauty, decay, anything that let me see the world slightly off-axis. Poetry followed instinctively and in parallel with the images, notes on fleeting moments, words of strangers, night time murmurings. 

Q: What inspires your choice of subjects and themes in your photography?

I explore themes that exist between control and surrender, beauty and discomfort, vulnerability and power. The female condition is central to much of my work. I’m an only child, and growing up, I was fascinated by the stories of both fictional and historical women. I think that this exploration of learning about self through the narratives of others led me to use my own body because it allows me to deconstruct identity from the inside out. I am drawn to natural elements like animals, flowers and water for their symbolism and resistance to being contained.

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Q: How would you describe your photography to someone who is not familiar with it?

It is conceptual fine art portraiture that blurs the line between reality and dream. Each image begins as a physical process, set building, self-portraiture, and live elements, and is layered digitally to create something both intimate and mythic. The work sits somewhere between photography and painting, between self and story.

Q: What do you hope people take away from your photographs and poetry?

I want to create a moment of pause. No right or wrong, but I want to offer something that lingers, a question or an answer they can feel in their body. If someone leaves the work seeing beauty, identity or emotion differently, that matters to me.

Q: What has been the biggest highlight in your career so far?

There have been a few: My artwork ‘Cournicopia’ in Leicester Square, my giant public art installation ‘Field Of Dreams’ in Battersea Power Station, and being selected for Objectif Femmes in Paris later this year. But often, the most meaningful moments are the unseen, quiet milestones. The hard work behind the scenes. When someone tells me the work helped them feel something, that they felt alone in feeling, that is the real highlight.

Cornucopia in Leicester Square

Field Of Dreams in Battersea Power Station

Q: What advice would you give to someone following a similar path?

Make as if no one is ever going to see your work! Start before you feel ready (and this is coming from a perfectionist). Protect your curiosity and trust the quiet seasons.

Q: What do you hope to achieve in 2025?

2025 feels like a threshold year. I am working toward something very special for 2026. I’m continuing with exhibitions in the UK and Europe, and expanding further with more complex installations and public art. More than anything, I want to create work that resonates deeply and leaves space for others to find themselves inside it.