neil childs artwork

It is the process of making that drives the idea, with consideration of the inherent language of materials and found objects, and how in combination that vocabulary can be transformed and exchanged. 

This approach provides a framework for development. Initial structures allow for the accidental to be incorporated to extend the meaning of the work. This is established using resistant materials, wood, glass, plastic and metals, at which point more fluid, ephemeral materials and found objects are introduced to change the context of the piece.

The constructions imply functionality and purpose but frustrate this end. Suggesting physical and mental deterioration, they are about memory, ageing and momentary insight. 

Increasingly, these themes of frailty in the human condition have become part of an attempt to explore broader ideas of systemic dysfunction, its impact on the individual, and the pursuit of the transcendent.

The structural qualities of the large-scale work suggest permanence but despite their material properties, they are not necessarily definitive statements. With each showing, there is an opportunity to develop the pieces further.