Photo: Jan Penny
A sculptural exploration into ...
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ABOUT MY WORK >>
Renewal
As a sculptor, I am fascinated by the natural process of renewal, the circle of life. Life follows death follows life, as sure as day follows night follows day.
My creative practice focuses on emergence, regeneration and natural progression, drawing influences from nature and mankind’s experience of nature. There is no such thing as ‘status quo’. We live in a dynamic system and new forms are always evolving. We can build hope.
Morth
When we witness the end of a way of being, the seeds of something new may be just around the corner. We see this in the natural world. Whenever one thing ceases to be, something else emerges, adapts, evolves and expands to fill the space. This is the essence of ‘morth’, a collapsing of my name, Martin Staniforth, that alludes to shape-shifting.
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Fall and Rise
My sculpture experiments with forms falling and rising again. Be that commissions of 500-years-old burnt timbers that rise again, abstracted microscopic recyclers, shards of porcelain regenerating, installations of Asteria - goddess of falling stars, or bronze torsos of the cracked human form: Achilles - vulnerable hero and Persephone - goddess of the changing seasons.
Vulnerability
As part of this journey of curiosity, I am intrigued by the notion of vulnerability and how this is often masked by statements of apparent confidence and certainty. Mankind may try to make its mark last forever, but there are stronger forces elsewhere in the natural world. Can we take strength through showing our inner qualms? To consider this for yourself, you could watch Brene Brown's TED talk on vulnerability.
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Photo: CC Aerial Solutions
Website co-created with Red Cliff Design