Wood & Mixed Media

WanderLand
'La Piedra' 2023

The playful nature of the work I’ve produced beguiles an intriguing view into a world where myths and legends still exist and the history of peregrination reveals a world that cannot always be fully explained. The belief that following the sun and stars would help the traveler understand, in a conscious sense, the physical and spiritual asceticism of wandering the land, and the joy of being in harmony with nature.

‘La Piedra’ is a pylon structure based on the story of St James and his body being laid to rest on a stone that bends into shapes and moves with the wind. The pylon form is something I’ve worked with before referencing the poems of Steven Spender and Stanley Snaith as a trekking spirit across the land. It physically supports the myth and legends that surround St James and lifts the man-made stone sculpture into the air so that it can spin and point the way of the pilgrims.

@wanderland2023

WanderLand
'Staff' 2023

My gallery piece ‘Staff’ is a representation of a walking staff made from Scallop shells that are crushed and ground to make a rudimentary plaster. A walking staff similar to this would have been used to aid the pilgrim on their pilgrimage or journey across the land. Traditionally scallop shells would have been hung off the staff to denote a direction of travel or used by the pilgrim for the giving and receiving of food and drink. Today the minerals found within the shells are being used in food and farming research and in the future may hold the key to sustaining soil diversity. ‘Staff’ is an apotropaic symbol of hope and discovery. It stands proud and ready to deflect the unwanted attention of the ever-present malevolent 'evil eye.' With the help of my daughter Hannah Collins who's a photographer and qualified BSAC diver, It will be filmed returning back to its rightful place in the sea.

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'Cool Stars' 2023

'Sky Field' 2020

'Fermi's Chain' 2015, 30 H x 20 W x 20 D cm, Beech wood slats, plywood and graphite powder.

'Dirty Work' 2010, 45.5 x 33 x 33cm English Oak.

Detail of 'Dirty Work' 2010.