Sculpture as breaking space

Breaking space and broken dreams

Sculpture is breaking space; transforming the environment, through the inclusion of one or more objects.

Tony A: "Breaking has many connotations.  I am interested in the inevitable breakdown and decay of all materials through their reaction with the environment.  As I was brought up by the sea, I am especially keen to use materials that have been carved by the sea.  Not just driftwood, but also the salt stained, rusted metal of broken sea defences, and the sand smoothed stones.

See more of Tony A's pictures of sculpture & inspiration on Pinterest

Breaking-down also influences the techniques I favour.  Much of the work is generally cut or carved, rather than cast or modelled.  I prefer to use discarded and left over materials.  I like surface treatments that illustrate the process of breakdown, of use and wear, such as rust, burning and partial polishing.  To me this is more representative of the real world than the shiny, antiseptic, mathematical shapes of many sculptures, which seek to avoid the effects of time and wear, rather than rejoice in it.

Breaking-down can also be used as a description of society.  It can be about the inevitable change in politics, and the attempts to bring order to the chaos of life.   Politicians often do this by simplifying issues through 'sound bites' and 'photo opportunities'  presenting us with their constructed 'icons' of importance.  Some of my miniature monuments are there to highlight these political clichés and the broken dreams of reality.

Such changes and disappointments are not sad but inevitable, all things breakdown over time.  The second law of thermodynamics broadly states that everything moves from order to disorder (i.e. entropy increases), unless energy is input.  My sculpture seeks to recognise this process as an inevitable element in all our lives by inputing energy to show the shape of this change, and to help us rejoice in its beauty."

“All things contain energy. It is self-evident, and by changing their shape or position you can alter the energy or strengthen it. You end up making power objects and that is ultimately what sculpture is for me." -  Steve Dilworth