This piece was made for the �young and free� exhibition. I have been exploring combinations of stone and steel and this was another opportunity to go further. I am commenting on our obsession with appearances ( and the cult of youth and beauty) and the reality of achievement.
I have used a dancer form as representative of someone who is young, free, graceful and beautiful but by making the form with rock at the main filler material I have suggested she is �grounded�. This word is sometimes used as a punishment for young people but in this case it is intrinsic to the form. The wings suggest flight and the use of recycled metal gives a sense of laciness but again they are heavy and suggest she will never fly.. In some ways this can be taken as negative and disparaging to young people but having been a teacher for 30 years I have seen many achieve great things in both creative and commercial fields and usually it comes from a sense of being grounded in reality that they can overcome any obstacle and achieve their dreams.