I have just uploaded a new set of handmade abstract sculptures to bright stem shop entitled S8.1, S8.2 and S8.3. They are part of a range of sculptures that I have entitles S which stands for ship, seed and small sculpture. This range of sculptures are at the very heart of my creative practice. Meaning most projects lead from them and back to them in some way.
Inspired by everything from pebbles to spaceships to my dads sailing dinghies. It is a form which has sat in my subconscious since early childhood. The origins of the sculpture can be traced right back to some of the earliest drawings I did as a child. Wether they be designs for cars, planes and Ekranoplans or more abstract drawings inspired by the work of Wassily Kandinsky.
During my foundation year in Art and Design these drawings lead to the creation of the first Abstract Sculpture S1. This was a pivotal moment in my creative development. It was the first time I felt I had created something which reflected my internal world. Its creation and the questions it raised would completely re-shape my future determining what I studied at university, the subjects researched and the projects made eventually leading to the creation of bright stem.
The sculpture lies at a cross junction existing somewhere between craft, design and art. In other words its strength lies in what connects it rather than what separates it. Because of this I've understood what is at the heart of my strength. I'm good at seeing visual connections between things which are often placed in disparate categories or disciplines. And then building new things out of those connections.
So whilst the obvious career path for me to have taken after making this first sculpture would have been that of a sculptor. Instead for me its creation reinforced my belief that I needed to explore other disciplines and understand how they connected. Because of this decision the sculpture/form until recently existed mainly as small sketches/doodles in my notebooks.
But I discovered when your working as an interdisciplinary artist and designer you still need a structure to work within. So the sculpture has become my structure. Something which I can make sense of the world through where projects can begin and return to. Sometimes in quite a physical manner morphing into a space rocket, logo or wrapping paper (see images bellow) but also in more abstract ways; creating a mental totem for the kind of future I want to create. Its organic symmetrical form centring my thoughts and pushing them forward. Allowing my childlike fascination with all things be they spaceships or seeds to grow and flourish. Thereby unlocking currently un known possibilities.
