A continuation of lost-wax bronze casting of found natural forms. 

 

Back in 2018, after I had graduated from Art School in Glasgow, I moved home and had a small crisis over what I wanted to do. Whilst figuring this out, I collected oak galls and conkers from the garden and local lanes. I was fascinated by both of these, whose forms combine soft maternity and violence; it echoed the relationship with my home and the brutal process of leaving its comfort.

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I had no idea how to use them at the time, only returning to the collected, dried husks years later, sticking them together with wax.

 

The product is a collection of swollen, tumorous bodies, familiar in their organic form but unsettling in their impossibility. They are both fragile and aggressive, aching to be held but unexpectedly heavy. Alongside their personal resonance, they reflect the uncomfortable and ugly aspects of rural places; rot, disease, death. Yet also the seasonal cycle of birth and decay that is ever-present and crucial to rural communities.

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All five sculptures were exhibited in Newcastle, as part of the group show 'Pop-up Slop' by Slop Projects. The exhibition challenged idealised depictions of the rural, featuring eleven different artists from across the UK (documented below).

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September 2022

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