Biography
I studied at both Exeter and Wimbledon Schools of Art, graduating in 1990 from Wimbledon with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art, Sculpture. Whilst there I worked in both wood and stone, which I continued to do for the next 30 years. However, in 2020 I decided to actively choose wood to make my sculpture as it provides the perfect medium for me to describe my thoughts, concerns and focus.
The wood sculptures I make have a focus on stillness and peace, relating to archaeology and ruined architecture here in my local Welsh landscape. Elements of ruined castles in particular feed into my sculptures. I find peace in the way time seems to stand still when I am standing within them, and how ruined architecture and archaeology from the past resonate and hold their place in the landscape. Here in Wales, flowing streams and tumbling rivers also have an influence on my work where a constant flow of water carves channels through the hillsides.
Most of my work consists of tall solitary sculptures, serene in form but with highly textured surfaces to describe peace but also conflict. These are the themes of my work; still towers and pillars carved to illustrate endurance through the ages with their weathered textures and darkened quiet archways, heavily textured blade forms to denote the battles that took place. The areas of texture illustrate struggle and friction of war through a more turbulent surface, light in some areas to illustrate hope and breakthrough, dark in others, where the archways are often charred to a soft velvety blackness to disappear into, like a safe, still haven.
I make these sculptures to be absorbed into that peace and quiet stillness, whether it is being immersed in several floor standing forms or just one silent presence up on a plinth. An escape into a moment of calm and pensive quiet. My hope is that others will experience my work in the same way.