Please scroll down to view sculptures made for interior spaces.
CHAPEL OF THE HOLY CROSS
OAK, ASH, PERSPEX AND ALUMINIUM
An unused undercroft beneath the Deanery at Durham Cathedral was renovated to create a new chapel.
I was asked to design an Altar, furniture and a window feature (the existing east facing window in its visually central position was rather ugly and disproportionately small within a large irregularly tapered opening).
The idea was to create a light , simple and functional space without altering the fabric of the building.
The trapezoid shape of the window set the precedent for the design of the furniture. The furniture construction provides its decoration. The legs of the benches and altar are left open to increase the sense of lightness. The lectern height is adjustable to accommodate all users.
The woodwork was made to my designs by RASKL in Newcastle, (with some re-design by them!)
The window is naturally lit.
‘THINGS FALL APART’ ASH
The top was carved from a single piece of timber and subsequently split into two.
A studio based work made for exhibition, the carving depicts a table set with breakfast for two, which has been split dramatically in half, almost as if some underlying tension hidden inside has been suddenly and violently released.
‘THE ARCHITECTS CHAIR' BRICK, OAK, STEEL AND GLASS
A seat commissioned for an architects office, which is made from some of the building materials used in the construction industry.
‘A TRICK OF THE LIGHT?’ MIXED MEDIA
Commissioned by a gallery to disguise/use a plinth that accommodated a stairwell. The gallery had been domestic dwellings, so the sculpture uses domestic objects to form an abstract structure. Next to the structure is a switch, which when pressed turns on a light in the corner, at the back of the structure, casting a shadow of the random construction on a screen made from a table cloth. An image of the domestic objects before they were broken up to use in the sculpture.
‘THE LAST SUPPER TABLE’ OAK
Made during my residency at Durham Cathedral with 500 year old oak recycled from the belfry.
The sculpture was inspired by my year at the Cathedral. I wanted to continue the tradition of making work that was functional, decorative and spiritually thought provoking. It deals with the Holy Communion, central to the daily life of the church, and its symbolisation of the Last Supper.
A simple carving of the key elements of that event; a wine jug and cup; a basket of unleven bread and a platter with broken bread.
However, the carving is divided diagonally into four sections, which are hinged and can be unfolded to create a flat altar table, inlaid with wooden veneers to make a pattern, like an illuminated cross-carpet page, symbolising elements of the Eucharist and the Last Supper. A central stylised cross; twelve circles, like platters, containing smaller circles representing the wafer and the drop of wine; St. Cuthbert's cross in each of them; and at each corner the four symbols of the Evangelists.
So the simple tactile carving opens to become a rich symbol.
The sculpture now stands in the Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral
