FROM 22 NOVEMBER 2022

KERRY JAMESON
Battle-Worn Series

Several unifying elements connect this body of work: the first is the repetition of motifs, such as the regiment of stick figures that assemble to protect the upper body of Stone Man, or the feathered shoulders of Crazy Horse. Another is 'rope', used as an act of concealment around the bandaged neck of Bear Rib, where its function is to tightly bind and constrict – or its appearance can seem less threatening, such as the unravelled mane of My Little Pony. Throughout the series, battle-worn colours are countered with an opalescent blue/green, borrowed from thickly glazed Jun ware bowls, or the warm golden honey tone of early Staffordshire slipware.

Work starts with experience and references taken from a store of drawings and images. I begin by making structural elements: my forms are figurative, so I need feet, legs, arms, torsos and heads. What follows is uncharted; I have no rules here. Sculptures are joined and fused, broken and recombined using a variety of found materials. Of course, breaking the work creates chaos, but new beginnings tend to open-up with such loss. We can sometimes only become truly attentive when something needs to be fixed.

– Kerry Jameson

All works 2022
Photography by Philip Sayer