Link to Website: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/01/laura-ellen-bacon-abstract-willow...
British sculptor Laura Ellen Bacon twists, ties, and knots pieces of willow and other raw materials to create large-scale abstract sculptures which she installs both inside and outside of architectural structures. The pieces often involve several stages of sketching, and weeks of weaving using her hands and few other tools. Bacon’s twisting reddish-brown forms hug and scale buildings, walls, and other existing space and landscapes in interesting and intimate ways.
“My work often ‘grows’ from a host structure as I’m very interested in the tension between built, planned structures, and the ‘unplanned’ organic form that may grow upon it,” the artist tells Colossal. “I’m also very interested in the human scale of handmade structures and have created several woven spaces in recent years that people can enter inside—creating and entering the work can be a very sensory experience.”
Bacon finds interest and inspiration in nature and natural phenomena, like the swirling patterns or murmurations formed by some flocking birds. The visual poetry, scale, and juxtaposition of each piece to its setting can be seen from a distance, but it takes a closer approach to appreciate the seemingly chaotic web of expertly intermingled natural materials.
In addition to developing two very large pieces that will use several tons of stone and willow, the artist says that she will be exhibiting a new work with jaggedart at this year’s Collect: International Art Fair for Modern Craft and Design. The fair opens at London’s Saatchi Gallery on February 28 and runs through March 3, 2019. You can view more of her sculptures by visiting her website, Instagram, and Twitter.