The Grief That Never Was
Sculpture: Willow, felted wool and wire, 137 x 145 x 180cm, 2020.
Maquette: Being Seen, Buff willow and silk, 47 x 38 x 65cm, 2020.
Drawing: Being Seen, pen on paper, A4, 2020.
Drawing: Being Seen, ink and pen on paper, A4, 2020.
The Grief That Never Was began as a small maquette and then was realised as a large sculpture. The work began in lockdown and took on the sense of a collective mourning or public grief: an act of mourning on behalf of others.
The curving spine of the willow form, bent over and pouring back into the ground, indicates the burden of carrying grief for others, and the weight it adds to our physical form. The use of willow is an association with baskets, and carriers, and our disposition towards carrying grief with us, often unaware that we are doing so.