Alluvion in Bronze

POA

Alluvium in Bronze was created during the COVID lockdown, at a time when all my exhibitions had been cancelled. The project began through conversations with Hugo Burge, who had attended several of my courses and commissioned a number of my ceramic works for his collection at Marchmont House. Hugo was interested in commissioning a bronze sculpture, and that conversation became the starting point for the piece.

At first, we imagined making a sculpture around half a metre high, but as the project developed we decided on a work closer to one metre in height. We chose Pangolin Editions to carry out the casting, patination and finishing, as Hugo had worked with them before. The project was funded by Hugo, and edition number one was installed at Marchmont House during lockdown. Edition number two remains in my studio. The sculpture was produced as a limited edition of three, plus an artist’s proof, and each piece weighs 148 kilograms.

Initially, we considered enlarging one of my smaller maquettes using 3D scanning technology, but in the end I felt it was important to make the sculpture at full scale in clay from the beginning. The piece was therefore created in my studio using the same methods I use in my ceramic practice. Once completed and fired, it was taken to the foundry, where a silicone rubber mould was made for the casting process.

For the surface finish, I chose a black patina with the edges gently rubbed back to reveal the bronze beneath. Hugo and I had discussed the possibility of using a brighter, more vibrant colour, but I felt a darker finish connected more naturally with the character of my ceramic work and broader artistic practice.

It was a wonderful project to undertake and remains a particularly memorable experience for me.