For sales, commissions and to send comments to the artist click here

Artist Statement:

At the start of my degree course my work was mostly figurative. Early works such as Peter Cook, Come on Death, if you think you're Hard enough and Stone Man, sought to examine the human condition through the depiction of human
frailties.

I was encouraged to diversify from this figurative work, and, under the influence of my dissertation study I briefly forayed into politically motivated works such as Flag Weaving

My real interest however is with personal rather than political forces.

My current work concerns itself with internal architectural corners. It seeks to examine the space within corners as a metaphor for the human condition, linking the physical restrictions imposed by corners with the feelings of despair that accompany the experience of 'being cornered' I use the materials lead and steel. Steel is used because its rigidity and strength reflect the structural rigidity of the corner. Lead, because, of all materials lead carries the connotation of permanence and impermeability. As such it is the perfect medium for expressing that, which cannot be changed. Lead has a feeling of death about it, aside from the fact that it is used to line coffins. The very nature of lead as a material, the fact that it has no springiness, that it will not ring when struck, ads to the feeling of a 'dead' metal. Hope Springs Eternal utilizes lead to create a tight, restricting and yet tactile corner. The surface of this corner is patterned with an embossed tile effect, which emphasizes the relentless permanence of the enclosed
space. The floor of this enclosed space is dropped below the aperture through which it is viewed, whilst the ceiling of the space sags into view at the top of the aperture. This emphasizes the weight of the space and the restrictive nature of the material from which it is made. Fear to Tread employs a lead pattern on two semi-cylindrical upright surfaces that bridge a corner. Between The twin surfaces is an aperture into the corner, which is partially concealed behind them. In this case the lead has been formed into tight, writhing organic shapes that reflect the claustrophobia and complexity that the corner implies. The viewers eye is encouraged into the corner by the surfaces flowing forms, but left with a feeling of anxiety at the point where the forms meet at the corner.
Anxiety,Worry and Regret, plays upon the eternalness of lead and the rigidity of steel. The three lead pieces, in varying states of petrifaction implying that the permanence of lead is akin to the permanence of misery

The principle change in my work has been the realization that it is not essential to depict the human form, to engage human empathy. When the work is minimal the viewer is the figurative element.

John McFarlane