“Murmuration” (2015), Flanders Red willow, installed at the Holburne Museum in Bath, UK. Photograph by Nick Smith Photography. All images courtesy of Laura Ellen Bacon.
British sculptor Laura Ellen Bacon twists, ties, and knots pieces of willow and other raw materials to create large-scale abstract sculptures which she installs both inside and outside of architectural structures. The pieces often involve several stages of sketching, and weeks of weaving using her hands and few other tools. Bacon’s twisting reddish-brown forms hug and scale buildings, walls, and other existing space and landscapes in interesting and intimate ways.
“My work often ‘grows’ from a host structure as I’m very interested in the tension between built, planned structures, and the ‘unplanned’ organic form that may grow upon it,” the artist tells Colossal. “I’m also very interested in the human scale of handmade structures and have created several woven spaces in recent years that people can enter inside—creating and entering the work can be a very sensory experience.”
Bacon finds interest and inspiration in nature and natural phenomena, like the swirling patterns or murmurations formed by some flocking birds. The visual poetry, scale, and juxtaposition of each piece to its setting can be seen from a distance, but it takes a closer approach to appreciate the seemingly chaotic web of expertly intermingled natural materials.
In addition to developing two very large pieces that will use several tons of stone and willow, the artist says that she will be exhibiting a new work with jaggedart at this year’s Collect: International Art Fair for Modern Craft and Design. The fair opens at London’s Saatchi Gallery on February 28 and runs through March 3, 2019. You can view more of her sculptures by visiting her website, Instagram, and Twitter.
Murmuration, photograph by Nick Smith Photography
Murmuration, photograph by Nick Smith Photography
“Exposed,” Flanders Red willow, installed at Blackwell, The Arts and Crafts House. Photographer: Laura Ellen Bacon
Exposed, photograph by Tony West
Laura Ellen Bacon installing her work “Exposed” at Blackwell, The Arts and Crafts House, photograph by Tony West
“Course” (2015), Dicky Meadows willow, installed at Hall Place in London, UK, photograph by Steve Hickey
Course, photograph by Steve Hickey
“Split Forms” (2012), Dicky Meadows willow, installed at New Art Centre in Roche Court, Wiltshire UK, photograph by Laura Ellen Bacon
Split Forms, photograph by Laura Ellen Bacon
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