Following the installation of my piece ‘Sea Breeze Blocks’ in Bridport Sculpture Trail (August 2020), which consists of five fish, carved from concrete breeze blocks, my response to the theme Restriction was with a smaller scale version (scale – when making fish, pun intended!).
I created four carved fish, made from my chosen material, concrete Thermalite blocks. Thermalite, made of up to 80% recycled aggregates, is more commonly deployed as a building material, referencing our homes, where we have spent so much more time. As a material, it is emotive of heaviness, bulk and being weighed down.
Sculpturally, as a reductionist technique, it resonates with our feelings of being restricted, reduced, aspects of life chipped away.
During lockdown many have benefited from walking near water (rivers, canals, lakes, sea) and even the increasingly popular open-water swimming. I’m currently studying this ‘Blue Mind’ effect. The sculpture trail, equally, has encouraged local residents to explore outdoors in a safe manner and the fish are situated on the River Brit.
Our emotions during this time of Covid-19 have been in waves, up and down, some days calm, some days stormy. By deploying the sculptural metaphor of the fish, swimming freely, or caught in nets, I hope to convey our collective mindsets and reflection on this.
A recorded live stream of the exhibition is availabele at:
Livestream of Restriction Exhibiton
My work is featured in Trays 6, 7 and 9. Go to 58min 45sec in to see two of the fish in their new home.
