Title - Ophelia
Dimensions - ( H x W x D ) - 110 x 110 x 16 cm \ approx\
Medium – Clear resin, pigment , matches, shellac, wood.
The longer I know this piece the more I read from it or see in it. Romantic notions of spitfires and John Millia's painting Ophelia were the inspiration for this sculpture.
I exhibited a smaller version of this piece at a solo exhibition in Germany and had a very different response to my own interpretation. Verbally attacked by a retired German engineer asking me why I put spitfires into pieces of work when they protected the bombers that dropped their loads on civilian cities. Two wrongs don't make a right I guess, never had that PROVERB made such sense.
The piece was initially one single block of clear cast resin which was completed for an art fair in Barcelona. After showing the piece a number of times I felt it was too 'heavy ' visually and I decided to go at it with a very large angle grinder. A difficult task performed in the patio of Tabacalera usually in the mornings before going off to teach in the afternoon.
The sculpture was cast in an open mould in layers and the objects such as the petrified leaves and flowers were taken from a patch of wasteland close to where I leave after another long hot and dry summer. The reaction with the catalyst while casting resin is endothermic, this means that heat is produced. This makes the casting process more difficult because the moisture is drawn from the leaves but it can also be rewarding in the sense that if it's only a little moisture and the resin doesn't crack you get this beautiful transparent film of a silver sheen.
This opened up a load of new 'vistas' in the work while making it more subtle and engaging by inviting the viewer to look more closely. After this I approached an other piece with the same intention...
All the larger wall mounted sculptures are completed in this way of composite pieces making up a larger whole. This relationship of many parts makes sense to me.The works are constructed after being initially created. They are made then broken down again and reassessed through trial and error until I feel happy with the balance of the weight of the piece visually and for it to have the intimacy that a good drawing can have.
Broken wings - 2010
Dimensions - ( H x W x D ) - 30 x 17 x 35cm
Medium – Stainless steel, resin, pigment, wood, paint.
Everlong series - 2023 - 24
Dimensions - ( H x W x D ) - 30 x 17 x 35cm
Medium – Resin, pigment, wood, paint, cotton wool
Working with the smaller pieces I wanted to soften the form and lighten the structure by using wood and dowls with less screws. I didn't want to drill into the resin but rather have it 'floating' and pierced between the wooden dowls.
Night swimming - 2023
Dimensions - ( H x W x D ) - 30 x 17 x 35cm
Medium – Stainless steel, resin, pigment, wood, paint.
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