KAREN AKESTER
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Fascinated by process and materials her practice encompasses glass, wood, metal and paper.

The source material for much of her work is disseminated from collected old photographs; found objects; tin toys; discarded ephemera.  With no personal attachment to these objects she is free to create her own personal narratives.
 
Her childhood characters initially sculpted in clay and wax are later cast in glass; bronze or paper.  The finished surfaces of her pieces can be polished smooth - the implication here of a much worn cherished item or fragmented, distressed and uneven suggesting an incomplete picture or memory.. here the viewer is invited to fill in the missing gaps to complete a picture in their own mind - this way, they too can unwittingly become part of the story..
By continuing to work with a combination of materials she strives to exploit the fragility in each.  Through the physical act of polishing, coldworking and engraving this surface erosion she hopes reflects a sense of life's precarious fragility.

Looking at the complex social groupings of children and finding there an individuals response to their society.  This can result in a range of situations which maybe farcical, distressing or both.  The children in her work are trying to find their place in a complicated world in much the same way we as adults are.

In recent year she has returned to her illustrative beginnings, exploiting source material directly from literature. Working with specific characters or plot lines from short stories, fables and children's tales - the challenge here is to put new life into recognizable characters..    

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  • home
  • about
    • about
    • CV
    • news
  • paper
  • sculpture
  • contact