Roger Hardy
“The estuaries and coastline of Suffolk has been a my source of inspiration for a number of years. Whether it is searching at low tide for wood, worn by time and tide or collecting fragments from the boat yards, these found elements are relics of a history and time gone by. Using found river and sea wood in sculpture which has a previous life and a story to tell. I think this is why I am drawn to it. Although the wood I find has mostly been worked by man, nature has re claimed it and shaped it over time.
In recent years I have been collecting wood from our local forests and woodlands. These forms are quite different to those found on the estuaries and shorelines. I am preserving it and giving back life and soul in the form of the human figure. Revealing the layers of history and life it once had. Sometimes casting the finished sculptures in bronze, this brings another level of permanence and gravitas born from this ancient tradition. I do this by re shaping and carving, releasing the soul and character of the human form within. Strangely most of my finds have human characteristics worn into them by nature. I like to work with the timeless quality of the sculptures. They could have been carved in the Middle Ages by long lost ancestors or pilgrims. I like them to take on a totemistic resonance. They seem to have a soul/life becoming an icon of humanity. This aspect fascinates me.
When working on groups of figures I have in mind the recent migration and movement of people from troubled lands. The river where I find the elements is of course a great conduit for the movement of people and spreading of cultures. I would like to think that the sculptures resonate with this. With new elements arriving on the next high tide. Nomadic, yet routed in the East Anglian landscape, with a very strong sense of place and identity.
I like working with sculpture. They are real, tangible objects. They inhabit space and time. I have been translating these sculptures into bronze which is adding a layer of permanence and following a centuries old tradition. I also work with plaster in combination with wood.
Another way of working I have developed is direct river bed casting. After finding pieces of wood at low tide on the mud flats I take them back to the studio. After drying and working on the pieces of wood, I return them to the origin of the find. Then, again at low tide, I make an impression of the sculpted piece in the mud creating an impression. Sometimes adding in other material found on the location. I then mix plaster on the river bank, and pour it into the impression I have made. I like working in this way, as it represents to me the cycle of life through the process of finding, returning and lifting. It captures a moment of time, a record of human form connected to place and time.
Recently I have started working directly in terracotta plaster. A very fluid and immediate way of working, informed and inspired by the wooden sculptures I have made. These can happily live outdoors, where their patination is enhanced in the elements.”
-Roger Hardy
