Ice and Ember Wall

2014, New Burlington Place, London
Finalist for Crown Estates New Burlington Place Art Commission
With Modus Operandi

The concept takes the form of a seamless rippling wall, a continuous sweep of white striated lines in relief, offering a monolithic, elegant and enduring presence.

Ice and Ember Wall is timeless in its visual references, form and materiality. It proposes an aesthetic that is not overloaded with signs, symbols and narratives. Playing with a depth of 5 cm it creates a fine language of shadows, light and rhythm.

The piece offers strong imagery – a flowing curtain, a birch forest, chalk cliffs, an ice-scape – that is nonetheless impossible to anchor in a single reading. Each image creates another – a constant deferral of naming which is a crucial quality of this work.

Close up the furrows are defined and geometric and are arranged in an irregular formation that is non-repetitive and echoes the skyline of a cityscape.

From a distance the linear patterns become softer and less distinct, rather like vertical pixels, creating a gently undulating fluted surface reminiscent of a theatre curtain.

The choice of white opens the space, bringing clarity and luminosity, and enhances the overall light environment.