Secret Sentinels by Clare Burnett PPRSS

From Saturday 15 July to Friday 29 September and accompanying the Summer Show, we will have a new site specific sculptural group 'Secret Sentinels' created by the Society's former President Clare Burnett PPRSS under whose tenure the 'Saving Dora House' project took place.

These three Secret Sentinels are designed to stand in front of the newly restored Royal Society of Sculptors. They celebrate the work of Elliot and Fry, the court photographers who commissioned the beautiful facade in the late 19th century as well as drawing attention to the 21st century surroundings of the building.  

The sculptures, made from glass mosaic to catch the light, are constructed from found and discarded materials and objects.  Their protuberances are designed to hold hidden cameras and periscopes, a gentle reference both to the cameras of Elliot and Fry as well as to those in security systems, doorbells and phones that surround the building now.

The restoration of the building has been painstakingly undertaken and involved the remaking and replacing of many of the bricks, matching their colour and surface exactly.  Having visited the brickworks and watched the conservation builders complete the work, I wanted the pattern and process of my sculpture to reflect this, attaching 25,000 tiles by hand over a period of six months.  

Clare Burnett PPRSS is a London-based artist who grew up in Belgium and France. She makes abstract, coloured sculptures using a wide range of materials and processes. They are often arranged in groups to create interactions within the space and beyond.