The collection has used as its source mass-produced plaster and ceramic figurines – mostly from the post-war period. Sometimes they are ‘narrative’ figures, interpretations of historical or literary characters, or they may be cheap 1950s re-interpretations of 18th century “haute porcelaine”. Some originals were beautifully sculpted, while others were crudely moulded. But each is very specifically chosen for its particular character and design.

Moulds are taken from the originals which are then utterly transformed by being cast in industrial, hard-core concrete.
Through this transformation the figures gain a monumental solemnity reminiscent of 18th and 19th century public sculpture, a quality emphasised when the figurines are raised onto monolithic looking plinths.

The monochrome material gives them a further weighty solemnity more likely associated with large scale bronze and stone memorial statues, offering a strange contradiction to the whimsical subject matter.

Evidence of seams, mould lines and flashing characteristic of the mould-making and casting process and evocactive of large-scale civil engineering project, are deliberately retained, giving the figures a rough rawness, again at odds with the delicate, carefully detailed originals.

Placed in groups or ‘tableaux’ the figures seem to engage with each other, despite the variations in scale, and a strange rapport and sense of theatricality arises.

More figurines will be joining the collection, which, given the source, will continue to develop in an unpredictable and surprising way.

Each figurine is individually cast by hand and every one comes out of the mould differently, making each cast quite individual. The concrete mix is also varied in terms of texture and colour.