Earlier this year I fabricated some blank arcade machine-style cabinets for Now Play This as part of their installation for CUTE at Somerset House.
The exhibition runs until 14th April.
Photos: Somerset House Trust © Tim Bowditch
Posted by Rich
I recently finished work fabricating the Sound Lounge - a new community space and library at the Bristol Beacon.
Design was by Northover & Brown and the project was produced by Cathy Mager.
Posted by Rich
Had an excellent holiday in Siena, Italy.
Flew in to Pisa, stayed in Siena as a base and had day trips out to Florence and Monteriggioni.
Saw a lot of great architecture and art, ate a lot of nice food, drank a lot of good wine.
A beautiful part of the world.
I don’t know about you but I found the pandemic and the lockdowns to be a time of very little creativity.
Having all of that spare time was a boon for a lot of people - giving them the time to do all of those things they didn’t have time to do before. I, personally, found that the level of uncertainty: about jobs, income, the virus itself and how it was handled, just stopped me from being able to think about making any work.
The time has not been totally devoid of creativity.
I got a couple of projects over that period (Observatories and Guidepost, both for the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust) but I was only able to do these because, as with most of my work, I was given a brief and a set of parameters.
I also spent a lot of time getting moderately more serious about making music. I’ve been writing and recording songs in various guises since the 90s, but it took the pandemic for me to actually take the time to write, record and put together a small collection of songs under the name Engine of Growth and actually release them into the wild. You can listen, and buy if you want, at Bandcamp.
Now we’ve emerged from the pandemic (even though it’s not entirely gone away) and places have opened up again, I feel it’s time to take stock of where I am. I’ve been applying for projects (as opportunities are starting to appear again), and I’ve given this website a little make-over. I’ve been thinking a lot about what kind of work I should make if I were setting projects for myself.
I feel like I need to get stuck back in to making things again.
Posted by Rich
I’ve designed a new sculptural structure to display the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail’s map and information panel.
In a change from my usual practice, it’s being fabricated by Faulds Creative Works.
Posted by Rich
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year in what has been the most unusual of years.
Here’s to a better future!
Posted by Rich
I recently completed a lockdown commission for the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust.
See documentation here and download a pdf with things to print and do here.
Posted by Rich
After a year in development Occupation, my project for The Ring in Worcester, has finally begun. So now it’s time to begin documenting the work as it progresses, and reveal a little of the background behind it.
Diglis Island has been a place of purpose and activity from its creation in 1844 (carved from a bend in the River Severn) to the mid-80s when its use as a hub for maintenance along the Severn and connected canals was transferred elsewhere.
At its peak approximately 80 people would’ve been working on the Island, building and fixing lock gates, dredging the river, and operating the locks to guide petrol tankers to the basin.
During WWII the Island was fortified with barbed wire, trenches and loophole windows (and possibly land mines) in order to protect the delivery of fuel.
As the use of canals waned activity on the Island dropped away. Now it is a quiet place, with a workshop that is unused, a small staff from C&RT, and a single resident in one of the three cottages. The only activity being the passing through the lock of tourists in narrow boats and the blacksmiths forge - now repurposed by a pewter sculptor. There is occasional excitement when the locks are drained and the gates fixed or replaced, or when the Island becomes periodically submerged due to flooding. Few people realise it is an island.
The purpose of my project is to rekindle interest in the Island by returning it (albeit briefly) to a place of activity and production, and creating an identity for the Island - making it distinct from the mainland. I aim to do this by producing a structural sculpture that will grow over a period of time. This sculpture has been inspired by the form of the locks, the buildings present on the Island and its history as a place of practicality, construction, maintenance and defence. The title ‘Occupation’ refers to the aspects of work and habitation that have occurred over the years, along with my own temporary taking over of part of the Island.
To achieve this sense of activity and occupancy I have begun building a structure on the Island. This structure will grow gradually over a number of months, with two or three structures added every few weeks, slowly taking over a patch of grass and concrete next to the crane. Regular users of the towpath will notice as the structure grows, and also might catch a glimpse of me as I work on the Island. I’ll be updating this website with the work’s progression too.
Posted by Rich
The exhibition of my Art House residency work opened on Wednesday.
The show consists of 133 ink drawings (selected from 250) produced during the residency. It runs until 9 March 2018.
Posted by Rich