Peter Randall-Page

Made from clay then cast in iron, the idea behind the sculptures was to create some kind of fundamental ‘totemic figures’. Using both hands to grasp the soft clay columns, Peter Randall-Page has made a series of symmetrical gestural indentations, allowing the clay to bulge out around the imprints of his fingers and thumbs. The resulting objects are figure like in their scale and stance but also ambiguously reminiscent of natural forms such as spinal columns, leaves, flames, or ferns unfurling.

They represent a kind of ‘ur’ modelling making a deliberate and explicit reference to the many creation stories from different cultures in which gods and goddesses create men and women from clay, before imbuing them with vitality.