Witness
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I first met the clients for this commission at a Private View at Winchester Cathedral. Soon after, I was invited for lunch at their beautiful home, filled with art.
Some months later, a terrible fire ripped through this wonderful place, destroying most of their art collection. I gave them a small piece of driftwood which I had gilded and painted which represented the possibility of hope that something good would yet come out of this disaster.
Soon after the fire, they began to rebuild. What they planned to do was awe-inspiring. They then suggested that I could make a landscape piece to symbolise the meaning of the little ‘icon of hope’ I had given them.
I have always loved making work with ‘found objects’ and then employing my painting skills to combine colour and form. Knowing the connection, the clients had with Winchester Cathedral, I looked there first for the materials. I had already spotted some marine ply in the Stone Masons’ yard, used as a cutting mat for the huge blocks of stone the masons needed for repairs and new work on the building. An enormous circular saw had cut a series of deep grooves into the wood, and I could see how beautiful this would look if worked with colour.
Each groove represented the start of something new - shaping building blocks, or the start of delicate carving for tracery or statuary. It instantly held meaning for what I planned to make.
The rebuilding was a Herculean task, and in some respects seemed almost impossible. The image of ‘squaring the circle’ came to my mind, ‘the bringing together of two things which are normally thought to be so different that they cannot exist together’ (Collins Dictionary) : the tragedy of the fire, its memory and all its attendant losses, and the anticipation of starting a new chapter in a home built out of the ashes.
So, my sculpture was going to bring together a circle with the same surface area as a square, ‘squaring the circle.’
Some months later, a terrible fire ripped through this wonderful place, destroying most of their art collection. I gave them a small piece of driftwood which I had gilded and painted which represented the possibility of hope that something good would yet come out of this disaster.
Soon after the fire, they began to rebuild. What they planned to do was awe-inspiring. They then suggested that I could make a landscape piece to symbolise the meaning of the little ‘icon of hope’ I had given them.
I have always loved making work with ‘found objects’ and then employing my painting skills to combine colour and form. Knowing the connection, the clients had with Winchester Cathedral, I looked there first for the materials. I had already spotted some marine ply in the Stone Masons’ yard, used as a cutting mat for the huge blocks of stone the masons needed for repairs and new work on the building. An enormous circular saw had cut a series of deep grooves into the wood, and I could see how beautiful this would look if worked with colour.
Each groove represented the start of something new - shaping building blocks, or the start of delicate carving for tracery or statuary. It instantly held meaning for what I planned to make.
The rebuilding was a Herculean task, and in some respects seemed almost impossible. The image of ‘squaring the circle’ came to my mind, ‘the bringing together of two things which are normally thought to be so different that they cannot exist together’ (Collins Dictionary) : the tragedy of the fire, its memory and all its attendant losses, and the anticipation of starting a new chapter in a home built out of the ashes.
So, my sculpture was going to bring together a circle with the same surface area as a square, ‘squaring the circle.’
The circle on one side of this new work would be made from the grooved marine ply. I took the colours from the location - the myriad greens, the weatherworn timbers, the soil, the ever-changing sky - and added shimmers of 24 carat gold to celebrate the triumph of their decision to rebuild.
Part of the project now included a new space for the arts, accessed by a road originally laid for the contractors working on site. I knew from previous projects that applying the heat of an oxyacetylene torch to copper created gorgeous, undulating colours. I had used this in a series of ‘sculptural paintings’ I had made for ‘Icons of the Incarnation.’ I would use copper on the other side of the timber facing this new arts venue. It would commemorate the reality of the fire, while the timber side facing the house would evoke the potential of the future.
The square is the lower half of the sculpture, not ‘just’ a base for the circle. I added various divisions to form shapes within the square, all of which employed the harmony and geometry integral to the Golden Section.
I am delighted that the two ‘faces’ of this piece work so well: the more intimate, painted wooden disc close to the home, the dramatic fire-coloured copper welcoming people to the new arts building. It is everything I hoped it would be, but more importantly it’s a tribute to the energy, imagination and determination of the clients, and a witness to the power of resurrection.
For more information on this work please email Sophie
Part of the project now included a new space for the arts, accessed by a road originally laid for the contractors working on site. I knew from previous projects that applying the heat of an oxyacetylene torch to copper created gorgeous, undulating colours. I had used this in a series of ‘sculptural paintings’ I had made for ‘Icons of the Incarnation.’ I would use copper on the other side of the timber facing this new arts venue. It would commemorate the reality of the fire, while the timber side facing the house would evoke the potential of the future.
The square is the lower half of the sculpture, not ‘just’ a base for the circle. I added various divisions to form shapes within the square, all of which employed the harmony and geometry integral to the Golden Section.
I am delighted that the two ‘faces’ of this piece work so well: the more intimate, painted wooden disc close to the home, the dramatic fire-coloured copper welcoming people to the new arts building. It is everything I hoped it would be, but more importantly it’s a tribute to the energy, imagination and determination of the clients, and a witness to the power of resurrection.
For more information on this work please email Sophie
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