The Eastern Daily Press has teamed up with the Urban Art Store to award one NUA student the chance to display their work at the upcoming Under the Stalls art show.
Here we take a closer look at one of the finalists.
Fine art student Izzy Wright uses tension, texture, and confrontational materials to explore restriction, identity, and female rage at Under The Stalls.
For fine art student Izzy Wright, art exists in the space between attraction and discomfort.
Her work is built on contrast, sharp edges against soft surfaces, and delicacy colliding with aggression, inviting viewers to pause and look again.
What appears refined or beautiful at first glance often reveals something more unsettling beneath the surface.
"I like when something looks delicate at first but reveals an almost aggressive energy up close."
Wright describes her practice as tactile and confrontational, driven by emotion as much as material.
Every piece is a collision of craft, feeling, and provocation, designed not to be passively consumed but actively experienced.
Texture plays a central role, acting not just as surface but as meaning, something felt as much as seen.
Themes of restriction, identity, and defiance run throughout her work.
Influenced by punk and feminist ideas, Wright’s practice reflects both broader social pressures and deeply personal experiences.
She is interested in how people, particularly women, are shaped, constrained, or silenced by society, and how these forces can be expressed through material choices.
"Materials and textures aren’t just surfaces; they carry meaning about who I am."
Wright realised she wanted to pursue art seriously when making stopped being about aesthetics alone.
When her fascination with materials shifted towards pushing boundaries and evoking feeling, she recognised art as a powerful way to reach people.
From that point on, her work became less about producing “pretty” objects and more about impact.
Her practice now centres on textiles and metal, drawing out both their contrasts and similarities.
She enjoys physically demanding processes such as cutting, shaping, and attaching, seeing the labour, struggle, and resistance involved as integral to the final meaning of the work.
"The effort and problem-solving become part of what the work is about."
One piece Wright is particularly excited to present at Under The Stalls is her large-scale panelled leather embroidery.
It marks the first time she has worked with embroidery at such a scale, and showing it outside of a university studio feels significant.
She is interested in how the work behaves in a public, unpredictable environment and how people choose to engage with it.
Wright’s work is closely tied to her experience of womanhood, especially feelings of frustration, restraint, and suppressed anger.
She is drawn to the idea of female rage, and how it is often softened, minimised, or silenced.
This is reflected in her choice of heavy, sharp, and restrictive materials, which carry a raw, unapologetic energy.
"I’m interested in female rage and the way it’s often silenced or softened."
Like many emerging artists, one of Wright’s biggest challenges has been learning to slow down.
With too many ideas competing for attention, she has had to focus her practice, refining specific materials and strands rather than jumping between them.
While difficult, this process has helped her produce work that feels more resolved and confident.
Rather than citing a single influence, Wright points to a combination of punk and feminist ideas, alongside environments that encouraged risk-taking and experimentation.
Being supported to trust her instincts has allowed her to lean fully into more confrontational materials and ideas.
Being selected for Under The Stalls comes at a moment when Wright feels her practice is becoming more focused.
Showing work beyond a university context offers both validation and the opportunity to see how it exists in the wider world.
"It feels like a real validation of my practice at a point where it’s becoming more confident."
She is particularly drawn to the raw, industrial nature of the Under The Stalls space, believing it will complement her textiles and materials.
Having visited previous exhibitions there, Wright is excited to see how her own work holds its ground within the setting.
When audiences encounter her work, Wright hopes they slow down, noticing details, questioning processes, and engaging with the tension embedded in the materials.
She wants the work to linger, leaving viewers curious, unsettled, and reflective long after they walk away.
"I want the work to stay with people after they’ve left."
Looking ahead, Wright hopes to push her practice further through larger-scale pieces, riskier materials, and installations that demand space and interaction.
She is also interested in taking her work beyond traditional gallery settings into public or unexpected spaces where it can interrupt the everyday.
"Anywhere the work can interrupt and demand attention feels like the natural next step."
For Wright, Under The Stalls represents not just an exhibition opportunity, but a testing ground.
Share