The work explores the fabrics used in construction and the relationship between functional and non-functional forms. The sculptures aim to disrupt the conscious and unconscious familiarity of fabric and function by asking questions of the materials and placing them outside their assumed location. An acknowledgement of the parallels between architectural and sculptural methods is vital; however, this work demands a conscious division within the construction process that takes the work from the functional into the sculptural.
There has been a tradition of sculptors and artists exploring the fundamental aspects of architecture’s visual language from Anthony Caro to Pedro Cabrita. Often the work possesses recognisable characteristics of the objects they resemble. In Assemblage Part 1 the work moves in a different direction and attempts to reflect the pre-construction period rather than the constructed object or building. By examining the unintentional assemblage of materials laid out, stacked, isolated or abandoned on a construction site the work allows the viewer to experience the materials suspended between the roles of function and non-function.
By recording the daily activity of construction sites (Peckham London, Ramsgate Kent) and observing and absorbing the delivery, placement and movement of the materials around the site the work aims to respond to these individual materials and build them into a form that reflects the visual drama of a construction site while questioning their usage.
The aim of the exhibition was to draw attention to the making/construction part of both the architectural and sculptural processes and to capture the essence of the maker by questioning intent. The deliberate non permanence of the sculptures, their fragile fixings balanced layers and hovering elements give the work an implausible delicacy which defies the materials used. This in turn leads to the examination of the materials and potentially an alternative view of their intrinsic qualities.
