Wakely, Shelagh
Shelagh Wakely, was associated with New British Sculpture: a name given to a loosely associated group of sculptors emerging in the 1980s including Richard Deacon, Shirazeh Houshiary, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, among others. They prioritised a playful and inventive approach to sculpture using a vast range of materials and techniques. Wakely gained recognition as a pioneer of installation art with her temporary installations using non-sculptural organic materials susceptible to erosion and deterioration. Wakely’s practice was concerned with the delicate, ephemeral, and transitory. Characterised by a tender touch, Wakely worked with a variety of media: from gold leaf to wire, silk to gilded fruit, ink on paper to canvas. Relating to fragility, temporality, aging and decay, ‘Sine Qua Non’ features simply the outline of a pair of sandals handmade from brass wire. Seemingly simple forms conjure emotional and sensual experiences. Writing about Wakely, critic Sarah Kent observed: ‘’The sculptures are very tactile and apparently simple, yet they somehow spark off complex thoughts. Looking at them one becomes aware of one's own hands in relation to the artist's.’’
- Artwork Details: 4 x 27 x 35cm
- Edition:
- Material description: brass
- Credit line: © The Estate of Shelagh Wakely
- Theme:
- Medium: Relief
- Accession number: AC 5178