I’m looking forward to suspending my large-scale Snakes and Ladders (I) piece in Wells Cathedral and attending the Wells Art Contemporary PV this week! I’ll also be installing a giant Octopus on a 5m wall at Eastover Primary School, after which I can properly get stuck into my residency space in the Loft, above Heritage Courtyard Gallery, Wells. All very exciting though I’ve been very busy, a bit stressed and feeling quite exhausted. I value those still times for head space and imaginings.
WAC
Having been selected as one of the installation artists for Wells Art Contemporary at Wells Cathedral, my 7m piece Snakes and Ladders (I) will be suspended in the south transept. I can’t wait to instal it in that magnificent space this week!
I’ve been very lucky to be able to work on it in a fabulous spacious workshop nearby, thanks to Jen Weaver and Al Crossman for the free space (available to rent - contact tractor.shed). The piece needed repasting and a few other tweaks, so I’ve spent 2 weeks sprucing it up. Thanks also to Nick Weaver for his technical assistance.
Snakes and Ladders (I) in progress
The Private View is this Friday 27 August (do come - PV invite below) and the show runs for a month.
See previous post for more details about the work.
My work tends to gravitate upwards, downwards, or entwine through - in motion anyway. There’s a vitality, an ongoingness, entangling or journeying - as with life. Along these lines, I’m reading Life of Lines by Tim Ingold.
Pyre is off to Taiwan
Packing Pyre, (including counting (85 pieces), weighing, installation instructions and registering shipping on DHL took almost as long as making it! The work’s going off to the International Biennale, National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute this Thursday - fingers crossed the 3 boxes arrive in tact the other end!
Loft Space (above Heritage Courtyard Gallery)
Loving my new temporary workspace in the loft above Heritage Courtyard Gallery, Wells. It’s giving me some thinking space along with it being physically inspiring, a space to expand, and document work, in between my other projects. I’m approaching it as a short residency, leading to Somerset Open Studios, (18 Sept-3 Oct). It’s very timely as my relatively cramped studio at home has no power at the moment!
I’ve been drawing roots with oak gall and Indian ink - the start of a series of drawings and sculptural installations.
I’m working on a new piece for an RSS exhibition at Chichester Cathedral next year - title undecided. My work is based on the plight of pangolins. Recently authorities found body parts of 15,000 dead pangolins in hundreds of bags. The slaughter of Pangolins continues. This poaching, cruelty, slaughter and greedy profiteering from the death of these beautiful endangered creatures is breaking my heart. Wildlife trafficking is a vile practice, and those who encourage and commission it must be stopped, shamed and brought to justice. Those who poach need to be given a better alternative - educated/enlisted to save not harm wildlife.
Of Anish Kapoor: ‘…bleeds and disgorges its subterranean innards… push boundaries between sculpture and painting into visceral new ground,… ongoing attention to the abjected body… a theme surely intensified in the pandemic era… when the sense of the vulnerability of the body has become a communal experience.’ ArtLyst, July ’21
I thought this description aptly describes what I’m trying to achieve in my new work.
In the gallery below the Loft, there’s a vibrant exhibition: Inside Out with work by Heather Wallace and Rebecca Barnard - come and visit!
Inch by IN:CH
We had a fantastic pop up event at Backwell Playhouse as part of Inch by IN:CH. It was a brilliant opportunity for dramatic lighting on our work. My piece Hope of a Tree was placed to cast interesting shadows for our shadow drawing workshops, led by Shirley Sharp and me. It was so lovely to interact with the public, who seemed to really appreciate the event. There was a great energy; a strong sense of collaboration and deep focus during the drawing sessions.
I’m creating a slideshow of my work to be published at the end of the Inch by IN:CH project. See my slideshow of all our work for Backwell. (Photos by Linda Ashe; James Thornton).
Our next stop is a pop up event at Found Outdoors, a beautiful woodland in Erlstoke, Wiltshire on 11th September, with events, and then our finale at The Gauge Museum, West Somerset Railway (25 Sept-3 Oct).
Reimagining Nature
A couple of my small sculptures from the entanglement series, and film Life in the Undergrowth are included in Re-Imagining Nature, an exhibition curated by Zoe Li in the newly transformed gallery in Yeovil - open until 11 Sept, Wed - Fri 11-3, Sat 11-5.
Giant Octopus
I’m on my way to finishing a giant Octopus commission for Eastover School via Spaeda Arts. Made from recycled materials, parts were created in workshops I ran with the pupils. Looking forward to erecting it on the 5m wall as a permanent feature.
Workshops
My first workshop back at the Holburne Museum for over a year was a success. Small family groups made wire creatures. I also spent a few lovely hours at Five Trees Bowlish running a free sculpture workshop. Thanks to Shepton Mallet Town Council for funding it as part of Summer in Shepton, and thanks to Sue Ayton-Moon for the great venue and facilities, situated in a field near Shepton Mallet. Participants made a range of pieces using recycled, found and natural materials.
Hope to see you at one of my forthcoming events. See a full list here.