Love and Death

Finding inspiration to craft a sculpture is never hard for me – the creation on the other hand can be more difficult to achieve.

A lot of my pieces stem from my sense of humour, created to release my droll inner wit. Often designed somewhat tongue in cheek, they hopefully bring smiles to faces and exude and portray the fun I had in creating them – that is certainly the intention at least.

Some are more of an experiment in mixing engineering elements with artistic undertones, whilst others are drawn out with more depth, displaying the emotions that simmer within.

These are the harder ones to create, persuading the emotions to translate into a sculpture with the right level of raw power that it deserves.

There’s an enormous bravery in an emotional piece for me, it’s the equivalent to striking up a conversation with a total stranger on the subway and pouring out all the pent up troubles on them. The opening of the soul in this way deserves praise when it’s done to good effect.

Which brings me onto this piece. This is as raw, powerful, and emotionally open as a sculpture can be.

It's a gravestone in the Mt. Macedon Cemetery, Victoria, Australia.
The sculptor, Peter Schipperheyn, created the piece in marble on behalf of Christina Matheson, the widow of Laurence Matheson, who passed away in 1987.
The pain, the devoted love and the overpowering emptiness of loss are so powerfully conveyed....

There are pieces that amaze, make us stand in awe, make us think and make us laugh….this one however just makes me cry….

Huge respect

(photo courtesy of  cultofweird.com)

 

Mont Orgueil Castle, Jersey

Another fine piece found whilst in Jersey, was this sculpture in Mont Orgueil Castle.

I was convinced it was created in steel, but in actual fact, its cleverly and skillfully crafted from wood by artists Bill Ming and Stan Bullard.

The piece represents the medieval prisoners captured and held in the castle and is cleverly placed so as to surprise and startle as one enters the tower....it is vivid and quite shocking, beautiful.

Devils Hole, Jersey

On a recent visit to Jersey, we stumbled across this...

The story goes that in 1851 a ship’s figurehead washed up inside the Devil’s Hole, a crater with a tunnel formed by the action of the see. The wooden ships figurehead could not last forever exposed to the elements and was replaced by a succession of modern interpretations, this being the latest version.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reference to the artist, nor why the figurehead was kept alive in this way over the years, but it is a powerful piece well worth taking the time to visit. If anyone can tell me who the artist is I'd be very interested.

It sits on an invisible plinth just below the water level of a pond, surrounded by dense fauna and somehow floats on the still water - the pond weed, mist from the sea and eerie silence all add to the atmosphere.

I found it a vivid and powerful piece, and a clear lesson in the merit of choosing the right location for a sculpture.