Robyn Neild’s sculpture responds to nature’s ‘unique fingerprint’ of organic forms and textures. The artist is interested in nature’s tipping point, finding the transformation of decay more beautiful than the symmetry of bloom. Though her degree in Fashion Design, at London’s Middlesex University, led to a career as a fashion illustrator for magazines such as Vogue and Elle, London stores Harrods and Harvey Nichols, once she relocated to the Kent coast she began to explore the possibilities of the three-dimensional, in collaboration with a foundry. The concept of the body as an art-object became more of a focus for the artist.
Robyn enjoys the impression of fingerprints left behind in the modelling wax, dictating a journey of where her hands have fluidly shaped the forms, and even this fine detail can be often be perceived in the finished work. The intricate modelling, combined with the ‘lost wax’ casting technique the artist practices, forces the metal to take on even the most delicate aspects, while retaining the technique’s uniquely unpredictable dynamism: gaps and pauses in the flow speak to the ephemeral individuality of each piece.
Robyn has always considered the human body as a fluctuating vessel, carrying narratives and the possibility of transformation.
Texture and form are of paramount significance, together with the folklore of the botanicals gathered by the artist as she walks the coastal paths to her studio. Assembled and held in place with silk thread in preparation for their transformation to bronze, the creation of singular pleas of protection or change are unearthed, ready to be shared.
Robyn has gone on to win awards for her delicate strongly textural sculptures cast in the lost-wax technique.