This website is in transition having been ignored and not updated for some time. So it only reflects some of the sculpture I have created in most recent times and over the last few years. It is my aim to rectify this situation over the coming weeks. 

What is shown here in the posting for the forthcoming show Out of the Ground are largely examples of some the work on display in the outdoor gardens from  8th of August. The less robust will be on display from the 28 August in the new large glasshouse. Most of this work is not yet included but will be added as completed in the coming weeks.

If you wish to receive further news on the show please provide your contact details on the form provided for this purpose.

Meanwhile, by way of introduction a few words on my work and approach to sculpture. My work is largely three-dimensional with its conceptual base deriving from the symbolism of the materials used and the transformation arising from the artistic intervention.

I often work with found or discarded objects and materials.  The by products of other activities that can show the passage of time through rusting, rotting and general disintegration. Such natural processes are also assisted (in the case of steel) through heating, melting, tearing, hammering, shaping and carving. This work and that of assembly and construction, raises questions as to wider social relationships and meanings embodied in the history of the materials used, and the forms that have been created.

The process of natural transformation such as the rusting and disintegration of steel; or the cracking and breaking of rock; or splitting and rotting of timber (and other matter such as vegetables); provide a material starting point to my work. This leads to an exploration of the objects of human construction and manufacture such as the artefacts of artistic or an industrial, agricultural or related activity. These are interventions have typically exploited both natural and human resources and as such contain within them human history as well as the associated scars of the damage done to the natural world.

The setting and the context for the display of sculpture is an essential element of the work. This cannot always be shown in photographs. Some of the work is site specific or has been an installation created for a particular purpose. For example, ‘behind closed doors’ was created within a few days and destroyed  shortly thereafter. Other work such as that using nails, has been assembled in varied ways, as have the ‘dead’ shopping trolleys. Experimentation continues with creating art from waste materials, in particular the transit packaging that is a by-product of supermarket distribution systems.

In recent times and having moved to the North of Scotland, my work has been more  shaped by my environment and in particular the materials to be found how this can be transformed to be both interesting and worthwhile looking at and also to raise questions posed by the sculpture in itelf or in relation to other work. 

Working with varied materials with a wide range of tools and methods is an important element of my art. The creation of work that is visually rewarding and challenging is the object of this activity. Hopefully it speaks in some small way to those viewing it.