Isla Chaney Dorset, United Kingdom
Contemporary sculptor. Working in mixed media, including clay, plaster, metal, concrete and wood, and use a variety of making techniques, depending on what best suits my aim. Pieces range from small, delicate objects of a domestic scale to those that are far larger and robust for outside public/civic spaces. I live and work in Dorset.
The conceptual focus of my work is the interconnectedness of all of life. I seek to translate personal responses to this fact into physical objects and to encourage viewers to notice and engage with the wonder within the apparently mundane. My work often centres on the internal architecture of things, focusing on patterns of growth and transformation inherent to all natural phenomena, making intriguing structures that are deliberately ambiguous and invite contemplation on the interconnectedness of all life.
Exploring contrast and contradiction, control and freedom, the natural and the man-made, scientific accuracy and artistic opacity, my pieces are part object, part imagination and play with the relative proportions of solid mass and open space, where apparent voids are as visually significant as the dense networks which surround them. Using a microscope allows me to identify individual elements of the entangled web of life. Viewed in isolation and out of context these abstracted forms inform and direct my practice. I aspire to create huge works for public spaces that are all encompassing, inviting relaxed exploration of the space within and around the forms, sparking a personal connection . Creating abstract sculptures that invite closer examination, contemplation and a deeper connection to the immediate environment and moment.
