Katie Taylor is a contemporary sculptural installation artist located in Oxford, UK. Holding a first-class degree in Textiles, she is presently pursuing a Ph.D. at Oxford Brookes University. Her artistic focus revolves around the exploration of our place in the world, the fragility of life, the inevitability of death, and the precariousness of our existence. Often, she draws upon history and historical research as foundational elements in her work. A persistent theme in her art is forensic anthropology and its role in determining identity, a topic integral to her current Ph.D. research.

Katie employs a diverse range of media to craft contemporary sculptural installations that delve into the intersection of materiality and memory. Her creations contemplate how we are commemorated posthumously through our possessions, delving into the conceptual and emotional depth of objects to explore the enduring aspects of remembrance beyond death.

Manifesto and process

I. Core Beliefs

  1. Material Holds Memory I believe that matter—flesh, fibre, fabric, and fragment—retains the residue of lived experience. Through touch, trace, and transformation, I work to surface what is hidden or erased, giving presence to absence.

  2. Art as Forensic Witness I use art to investigate the silent stories of unidentified individuals, lost lives, and social erasure. My practice is an act of witnessing, of naming the unnamed, and of restoring dignity through aesthetic testimony.

  3. Making is a Form of Mourning Objects are more than artefacts—they are transitional companions in times of grief, rupture, and rebirth. I make to understand, to hold, to let go.

  4. The Political is Material The body is not neutral. The materials I use—human skin, forensic textiles, discarded remnants—are inherently political. They speak to histories of violence, displacement, and survival.

II. Methodologies

  1. Interdisciplinary Excavation I draw on forensic anthropology, archaeology, textile practice, and death studies. Research and material practice are not separate—they are co-constitutive.

  2. Reclamation through Process I reclaim and repurpose discarded, broken, or taboo materials—bioplastics, cast pewter, forensic clothing—not to fix them, but to honour their transformation.

  3. Liminal Installation I create immersive environments that invite the viewer into spaces of vulnerability, fragmentation, and unresolved transition. The work often resists narrative closure.

  4. Collaborative Engagement I work alongside communities, researchers, and other artists to amplify marginalised voices. My practice is grounded in empathy, ethics, and shared authorship.