Reach by Alice Cunningham MRSS

The Royal West of England Academy commissioned Alice Cunningham to make a new work for their landmark exhibition Earth: Digging Deep in British Art at the Royal West of England Academy. This resulting hand carved form, 'Reach' responds to the pressure we and our environment face due to rapid climate change. 

Although developed in response to themes of land, labour, and extraction, the making of Reach coincided with a deeply personal period. The work was completed while I was eight months pregnant, alongside the demands of finishing a major institutional commission and undertaking a house renovation. As a result, the sculpture has become inseparable from lived experiences of female labour, bodily endurance, and persistence under pressure.

The suspended form suggests both aspiration and limitation — an effort to extend beyond one’s reach while remaining tethered to physical reality. 

The galleries at Dora House are closed until autumn 2026 while we carry out building works to deliver the project 'Creating a Home for Sculptors', an initiative that will re-imagine our basement into a welcoming flat for visiting artists with flexible studio space and a home for the Royal Society of Sculptors’ archive. 

During this period the sculpture terrace at 108 Old Brompton Road will continue to showcase contemporary sculpture and we are also programming a series of online artists in conversation events open to all so please visit our What's On page to find out more and for recordings of past talks, visit the Society's Vimeo Channel.