Polished Cast Bronze with patina
Orchid
Name – Orchid
Year – 2016
Material – Cast bronze with mirror polish and artisan patina finish on polished granite plinth.
Dims – 420mm H x 370mm W.
Edition – Limited edition of 19.
Orchid is a cast bronze, using the lost wax process. It has one surface mirror polished and the opposing surface has a stunningly contrasting artisan patina.
Having been fascinated by the works of Naum Gabo since discovering a book on him in my college library, when the works of Moore and Hepworth had initially sparked off a love of sculpture. This book contained some stunningly unusual and new ideas for me, many of which came under the label of constructivism. One of his pieces that immediately struck me was his fabricated bronze sculpture ‘Spheric Theme’, a beautifully simple and aesthetic form. I played around for days at college making paper models of the design and altering the shapes to see what else was possible, although for some reason at the time never took the interest any further.
Until years later, looking through old sketch books to find inspiration for new bronze designs. I had the idea to use this form and concept of Gabo’s, which was primarily derived from his interest in ‘negative-space’ and sculptures that give the impression of more mass and volume that they actually have. I realised that using the form he created, as a outer frame, that a stunning solid form could be created within the confines of this space. Indeed the resulting shape is without a doubt the most dynamic sculpture I have designed and made. There’s not a single straight or flat element and no surface or edge have the same contour.