Laura Ellen Bacon Artist in Residence
During Laura’s four month residency at Compton Verney, she worked on two of her own commissions, as well as three pieces which she created with members of the public during drop-in workshops in the park. These hand-made, den-like sculptural forms can be traced to her childhood enthusiasm for building personal spaces in the garden, woods and fields
This residency responded to Compton Verney’s magnificent ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland and coincide with an exhibition about Brown and his landscapes designs for estates in the Midlands including Charlecote, Weston Park and Compton Verney.
Since graduating in 2001, Laura has undertaken a host of commissions and in 2010 was selected as a Jerwood Contemporary Maker. Her handmade, den-like sculptural forms can be traced to her childhood enthusiasm for building personal spaces in the garden, woods and fields. Her works are reminiscent of nests or cocoons often made from natural materials created on a human scale. Laura says:
Nests intrigue me because they utilise existing structures, such as trees or architectural features. Processes of accumulation also interest me, such as the creation of a bird’s nest or the build-up of driftwood on a riverbank. My use of materials is low-tech but intuitive, enjoying my chance to create work large enough to climb inside, or pass through in some way. I create most of my work on site, be it landscape, cityscape or for the interior setting.
My woven work today is often concerned with the making of ‘spaces’; of capturing the delight of crafting a small area to dwell, even just for a moment
Residency funded by Arts Council England.