Laura Ellen Bacon

“It seems impossible to look at Bacon’s sculptures without asking how they have been made. Their apparent simplicity of form is deceptive and we see on closer inspection that they consist of a complicated system of knots and weaves, allowing us to consider their inner structure as well as their outward appearance in much the same way as we regard the pierced, hollow forms of Hepworth and Moore.

 

They have a powerful and muscular – if not ominous – presence, with each willow stick creating a distinctly taut and sinewy appearance. They enthral and inspire wonder, not only for their size and intricacy, but because no one looking at them can ever quite believe that Laura Ellen works alone or that she achieves such great speed. Ultimately she takes mundane materials and traditional methods to create something strange, beautiful and compelling.”

 

- Stephen Feeke - 

‘Muscle Mass’ was a commissioned work by sculptor Laura Ellen Bacon, created in response to the collections at The Rural Life Museum at Normanby, North Lincolnshire and presented by Normanby Hall Country Park. Inspired by items in the museum, including a selection of woven rush/sedge horse collars exhibited in their saddlery and a striking large-scale photograph of the huge thatched haystack, Laura became interested in materials sourced locally, especially those used in the construction of thatched roofing. After a period of research, Laura worked with volunteers from the nearby Alkborough Flats nature reserve, to gather and process reeds - a traditional thatching material - for the construction of the sculpture, which was created at the artist’s Derbyshire studio. Well known for her use of natural materials to produce elegant and striking installations, this large-scale standalone sculpture will become the first using this new medium.

 

'I use natural materials, en masse. I hope my language of form may feel strangely familiar to the natural world. It is my goal that my work might bring some intrigue into both natural and built environments, creating work that might serve to remind us that nature can still surprise us. My work is also focussed on the human, physical experience within woven spaces or ‘burrows’ – although I joyously admit that the immersive process and the almost primitive nesting instinct it releases means that the main recipient of the experience is me.'

 

- Laura Ellen Bacon -