Laura

The Figure


Laura / Lora
This early study echoes Blake’s interest in classical figurative sculpture by mirroring the broken sculpture that has survived from ancient Greece and Rome. Our familiarity with observing partial works, damaged and dismembered, by time allows us to envisage the totality.

The figurative torso emerging from the abstract stone, blurs our perception and enables us to see a mermaid’s tail, perhaps, or a hot spa, maybe even an acrobat; without detracting from the essence of the human spirit captured in her reclining body.

This early study echoes Blake’s interest in classical figurative sculpture by mirroring the broken sculpture that has survived from ancient Greece and Rome. Our familiarity with observing partial works, damaged and dismembered, by time allows us to envisage the totality.

The History

Laura was originally started as a complete full figure statue, in 1988. At the time, do to a lack of experience in constructing the armature upon which the clay was placed, I had sever problems with the work after several months of modelling and was forced to try to save the only upper half of the work.

Further problems forced me to add a fairly large base in order to support the work. This base a first proved to be a great burden, however, after some deliberation I convinced myself that this conversely provided me with the opportunity to try to incorporate a figurative torso and an abstract base into the same piece.

Having been originally schooled in abstract sculpture I felt that if I applied myself perhaps it could be done. I do not have any precise records concerning this piece, it was begun in the studio in Paris and was completed sometime in 1989.