Caroline Ingham makes non-figurative, three-dimensional forms that hover close to the body without fully describing it. Working between sculpture and painting, she uses distemper-impregnated paper that is waxed, painted and stitched, building and reworking surfaces through touch, pressure, and repetition. Her materials carry the marks of their making, holding subtle shifts in weight, tension and repair, giving shape to experiences that are often unseen and unspoken.
In her recent series Protection, the works take on armour or carapace-like forms. Outer layers appear hardened yet remain porous — thin openings and worn edges revealing flashes of colour and internal structure. Surfaces fold and give, seams hold things in place, and the forms gather around something just out of view. Informed by her lived experience of chronic illness and the transformative effects of modern medicine, a sense of something withheld runs through the work: an inner, secret body — partly shielded, partly exposed — lingering beneath the surface.
Caroline is a London-based artist. Following an extensive career in museum design at the British Museum and Natural History Museum, she completed an MA Fine Art (Painting) at Camberwell College of Arts in 2020. She exhibits widely and has been selected for the Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition, Materiality, organised by No Place Art, and The London Group Open 2025. She is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors
Website: Caroline Ingham
Instagram: @carolineingham_paintings