Echoes (2025) |152cm X 200cm | Oil on Canvas

In February 2025, Alison Reid was commissioned to create a new artwork for the annual student symposium in collaboration with Tate Liverpool. The commission invited one student from each discipline to respond to a selection of J.M.W. Turner’s sketches held in the gallery’s archive. Alison’s response was presented publicly as part of the symposium, contributing to a cross-disciplinary event that celebrated diverse interpretations and creative research. The commission formed part of an ongoing partnership between Liverpool Hope University and Tate Liverpool, highlighting emerging voices in contemporary practice.

“In preparing for the symposium, I spent time researching the Tate archive of Turner’s sketches and found a surprising resonance between the artists fast-paced studies and my own experimental work in the studio. I think of my studio walls as my sketchbook - working on loose paper. These 'sketches' often feed into my larger paintings. The symposium was an opportunity to talk about my research into Turner, the fascinating energy in his mark-making, and to introduce myself and my practice in that context.”