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When I make sculptures, when I make objects I’m still
recontextualising them in terms of painting, in terms of literature
in terms of architecture
I'm using these other structures to describe the work
and navigate my way through making the work
I’m interested in the physical romanticism of an object
painterly gesture and mark making
colour and in particular painterly reference comes into the work
seeps into the work and finds its way on to the metal
and offers a kind of gap into another world
another layer reference that I'm able to input on to the sculpture
that you wouldn't otherwise get in a very minimal language of linear sculpture
if you look at Sara’s work a lot of the
themes and aspects that she explores are quite architectural
it's all about materiality and how that works
There's quite a strong hierarchy between how she uses glass and metalwork
There's the idea of how you perceive certain materials
Things that you
wouldn't traditionally expect to be floating
and very light, do, whereas
things that are traditionally seen as a much lighter material
tend to be the more structural and supporting element
I suppose I have a tendency for a kind of
lightness in the way that I use material but often
I'm using a material that is otherwise perceived as quite architectural
So for the BALTIC work there will be two
core clusters of glass that are bridged
with this metal framework that goes right up to the ceiling
the first thing I wanted to do was use the full height of the space
and because it is a collaborative work
with Ryder Architects it felt like this is the moment to do that, exceed my own
notions for the work and make something that felt
like it was on an architectural scale that you could move through
that you could participate in, that already felt like
something new, a new area
for us to work in
I’ve really tried to extend those rods and lengths as far as they’ll go
and it’s quite unpredictable how they’ll behave and I think they
will bow in the space and kind of
sag and droop under these unyielding quite big shapes
that are quite top heavy.
Although it’s quite a free form installation in some ways there’s still a very strong sense of
order within it the way that it meets the ground has been well considered
there’s a sense of direction and motion about it
These are all things that are quite architecturally expressive ideas.
This idea of being able to step into another world by
crossing this threshold which is referred to in the title of the work.
It's called A Subtle Knife, which is from
from Philip Pullman's trilogy.
so you have the idea of glass planes slicing through not just objects within a gallery
but potentially going beyond and this just happens to be the point where they meet
even as part of the working process we would look at preparing
visual and concept ideas
that kind of expressed these themes and Sara would then work through
maquettes and work these things up.
I think at some point in the process I feel like I have to have
that kind of ownership
of it but it’s less possible working on such a big scale
I think that kind of playfulness and experimentation has to come at
different points in the process so the way I’ve dealt with it really
is to negotiate different things and work on a really small scale
in the maquette making as much as I want and try to allow that kind of witnessing
and emerging of association and reference that I rely on in my
normal sculptural practice to come in and then I have to
let go that of that to some extent when it goes
into somebody else's hands to make the larger scale parts
and I've been able to do that through working with Scott Associates who
who are very sensitive to every mark and every bow of a piece of metal
All of these small details
they understand that that's to do with the
materiality of the sculpture and that the
material and meaning are very much intertwined so that I can’t
really let go of any those elements Then I suppose I try to regain
that part of my own action and connection the work
So I sort of collage with these coloured
pre-made painted parts of aluminium, sheet aluminium
that are then positioned on to the final sculptural framework
and bring it back I suppose to language that I feel like is mine
my kind of vocabulary.
The whole ethos of the work is just this change in perception.
As you walk around it you look at it from different aspects
From the back of the gallery looking out you see forms silhouetted against the light
as opposed to having light shine on them.
Because it's not a directly figurative piece of art
It's all about how you perceive it and the different ways of perceiving it
that make it interesting and keep it fresh.
Above anything, I think just I want from sculpture that the materiality of thing in the room
is powerful enough and overwhelming enough and that its imbalanced
improbability, all the weight up there
it just feels very present and in that sense you just respond to it
I think that's all you really can hope for.