Adaxka
Wood, paint
68 x 161 x 91cm

Two highly polished planks are lifted off the ground by slim, delicate lengths of painted wood. The gently carved and solid wood planks are not machined, there is a gentle undulating surface which contrasts with the slim, organic branches and the bark of the tree is evident at the edge. These sticks are raw lengths with a collective strength enabling the lift. The planks are not inert, they gather the painted branches, gathering them from a broad spread and forcing them together through holes, constricting them, holding a tight grip before releasing them again. The spaces between very slender and delicate looking lengths of painted wood is significant and these airways through the sculpture are hugely, physically active. The symbiotic relationship of both sets of elements is vital, they rely on each other, and neither can work without the other. The focus of the sculpture is the centred constriction, the sense of the painted components working upwards and creating the lift by the combined action. The blue colour enhances this lift by taking away the grounded sense of the tree and creating a more ethereal and floating idea.​

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Korapiloa
Bronze, bronze wire, patina
21 x 28 x 21 cm

The swirl of the wire creates a cloud linking through two small, pierced bronze elements. The confusion of the wire zipping around with visual speed suspends the two larger pieces and holds them apart, they are together but separated out. Each bronze element has a physical relationship with the whole by the literal wire connection. As a result, the wire is an essential and highly conspicuous, essential and physically integrated component within the sculpture, delineating additional spaces.

This bronze sculpture has two elements suspended within a taut wire construction. The central elements are twisted and soft, organic forms. These are pierced by smaller cross section rods along each length which reach out into the surrounding space with a loose geometry. The straight lines of the rods have angular changes in direction and the criss-crossing and intersections both visual and physical, creates a complex open structure extending the space.

Picell
Bronze
42 x 67 x 40 cm

Picell is a unique bronze sculpture made with the lost wax process during the Brian Mercer Fellowship at the Mariani Foundry in Italy. It has a complex visual structure exploring the composite possibilities of the dynamic energy contained within itself. There is an inbuilt sense of push and pull and this to-ing and fro-ing generates a lively exchange as adjacent parts resist the dominance of the other and also try to impose an alternative resolution.
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Vinculum
Ceramic, thread, wood paint
20 x 28.5 x 16.5 cm

Vinculum is a ceramic sculpture bound together with thread; a collection of complex clay forms, warped, folded, squeezed and tied. They nestle together, pulled tight in against each other by thin thread. The fluid movement of the clay is restrained and made still by wrapping and cocooning that particular moment. The thread is taut against the organic and more fluid clay, encasing the individual elements and compressing the space between them as it pulls the pieces together. Each unique piece of clay is brought alongside its neighbours, jostling for position and both cradled against each other, held in place by the binding but still wanting to break free from the constraints. The bindings play a dual role indicating a direction and development of movement as well as containing the movement within.

Zolemba
Painted wood
49 x 93 x 46 cm

Small cross section logs have been cut with a bandsaw, not with straight geometric and rather harsh lines, but using an organic and gentler line, less regimented and often deliberately off kilter. This method reveals the internal make-up of the wood: the rings, grain, colour, and form. The ‘planks’ made are separated, re-positioned back together, not necessarily in their original position with the wonky cuts meaning the boards do not fit tightly and there are visible and significant clefts in the structure. This method of construction allows forms to be created across the sculpture with an openness that would be impossible using one piece of wood. Ensuring that the component parts of the sculpture are correctly positioned and held in the right place from all angles is crucial to the spatial relationships that are formed across the sculpture.

​Slipjig
Ceramic, metal armature, wood, paint
34 x 63 x 33 cm

​Slipjig is constructed from multiple ceramic components which interlock and crumple the spaces between each one, along a single metal armature. The base plate is a slice of eucalyptus wood cut while it was ‘green’ i.e., fresh cut and not dried out. It has warped and twisted out of position while it was drying, usually a very slow and careful process. This time the wood was deliberately allowed to dry out very fast so that it would distort and mimic the turns and deviations in the clay. The clay elements dance up and along the armature, complex individual pieces in themselves that add to an intricate sculpture overall. All the wood is sourced from reputable tress surgeons.

​Ekorketa
Painted wood 
74 x 52 x 47 cm

Ekorketa is a sculpture under tension, the lean wood forms poised to spring apart if the connections are broken. The expanded the space between what are already very slender lengths is significant and the airways created through the sculpture are hugely, physically active. The individual forms speed through these airways, bisecting the spaces and occasionally interrupted by dowelling. These small dowels are both uniting the individual pieces and simultaneously hold them apart. The interconnected spaces appear to be contained by the structure of the sculpture, held in by a wonky geometry but actually, the airways are highly fluid, mimicking and working with the taut elements.​

Shiels
Bronze, wood
23 x 33 x 20 cm

This unique bronze was constructed from steam bent bamboo before casting into bronze. Each element is under tension, bent and twisted into position and there is a strong rhythm across the sculpture as parts come together and then move away. The space and airways created are as important as the physical pieces.

Rraff
Wood, staples, rope
53 x 60 x 56 cm

The cross section of fresh cut green wood has been ‘kerfed’ by almost but not quite, cutting through the cross section of the wood. The gaps created by the saw cuts allowed the wood to be bent into a new configuration and this has been fixed in position by stapling. Small twigs and bark have been deliberately retained to keep a fresh, raw feel. Each part has been lashed to its neighbour with rough string, maintaining and enhancing the toughness of the overall piece. There is nothing flowing or smooth in this sculpture, it presents as harsh and pressured, under considerable tension. The colour of the paint draws the forms together, creating a visual unity, with a pale wash revealing the contortions beneath.​

​Jinky wells
Bronze, metal rod, patina
27 x 33 x 42 cm

This bronze sculpture has two elements suspended within a taut wire construction. The central elements are twisted and soft, organic forms. These are pierced by smaller cross section rods along each length which reach out into the surrounding space with a loose geometry. The straight lines of the rods have angular changes in direction and the criss-crossing and intersections both visual and physical, creates a complex open structure extending the space.​

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About Alexandra Harley

Alexandra Harley is a British sculptor best known for her immersive engagement with materials.
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She studied sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art, followed by the Advanced Course at St. Martins School of Art.

Her own teaching career is extensive, commencing with woodcarving in the Sculpture Department at City Lit in 1985 and over the years expanding into bronze, stone and life modelling.

She is inspired by the diverse physicalities of the materials she uses in her practice. Each material functions as both a starting point and a process, a core element and a guiding rhythm, through which she seeks to capture and elucidate fleeting moments.

​Head on over to her website:
www.alexandraharley.co.uk

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And make sure to follow her:

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See more...

​See more about Alexandra Harley's practice in the Shortlist 2021 Uncovered videos on The Art Prize's YouTube channel. 

Stay tuned to learn more about Alexandra's exhibition Moving : Still also coming to The Art Prize's YouTube channel soon!