Amy Stephens | Permanence of Space: Focus On

 

Restless Matter is made from a piece of metamorphic rock that bears witness to a particular stage in geological history. This sculpture is a celebration of the landscape presented to the viewer as an object of both stability and fragility. This beautiful off-cut highlights a rock that has been growing silently for millions of years, collected by the artist from a quarry in Italy as it was being discarded as waste. 

 

The stone inhabits both a physical and psychological space. Set upon its modern stainless steel pedestal, there is an air of admiration for the entity itself but also a bond between the natural and the constructed. The millions of tiny crystals are translucent allowing the light to penetrate a few millimetres below the surface creating a soft glow. They form a compact, perfectly-fitted pattern of carbonate crystals. Pitted with star dust and striated, this artwork is focused on exploring the idea of transferability and the importance of recognition for these terrestrial wonders.

 

This series of photographs were taken by the artist from inside a working quarry. This particular site is where sculptors have come for generations to source offcuts for their work. From hand-written text offering the fate of the marble to perfectly cut endless blocks that lie in peril of their fate.

 

The sheer scale of the marble operation begins to emerge highlighting giant off-cuts at the base of the excavation. The artist offers a spatial narrative surrounded by beautifully polished brass frames that transform the two-dimensional images into sculptures.

 

 

This photograph depicts the precarious nature of a working quarry with the marble façade exposed offering the viewer an insight into this natural wonder. A striking line of green fluorescent tape has been applied to the surface to create a contemporary montage. The tape acts also as an alert, asking the viewer to stop, to think and to be mindful about this particular site. Starting inside the frame, the ascent of colour goes beyond the frame and onto the immediate architecture. The viewer is left following the line along and around the neighbouring space.