African birds have found their way into both my sculpture and my functional work.
Birds have always found their way into my work – not only as sculptures in their own right, but also in the functional pieces I create.
In my tables, lamps, candlesticks and candelabras, bronze branches and abstract tree-like forms become natural perches for kingfishers, owls, hoopoes and other African birds. Rather than adding a bird simply as decoration, I like it to feel as though it belongs there – perched quietly on a branch, sitting at the base of a tree or becoming part of the structure itself.
There is something particularly suited to birds in these pieces. A lamp or candlestick already has a strong vertical form, and the addition of branches and leaves allows the functional object to gradually become something more sculptural.
The same idea runs through much of my functional work: wildlife and natural forms are not applied to an object afterwards, but incorporated into the design. Sculpture and function become part of the same piece.
Each work is individually created and cast in bronze in my own foundry. Many of the smaller details are modelled directly in wax, and the finished bronze is chased and patinated by hand. As a result, even when I revisit a particular design, no two pieces are ever quite identical.
Table lamps, candlesticks and candelabras can also be created as pairs or developed in different designs, sizes and wildlife motifs for individual interiors.
