What Lies Beneath; Carving, flotsam & jetsam

What Lies Beneath
Wood, slate and ropes (washed up on the Sussex Coast)

Photos from the show of Tony A's work; see more on Pinterest

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.