Phil Taylor

Each handmade sculpture pushes the medium to behave in an organic and fluid way, while the giving them an almost digital appearance. All the timber used is reclaimed, recycled, or repurposed; mid-century furniture, renovation/demolition timber and felled specimen trees. Each timber type has its own unique properties, presenting different approaches to shaping and finishing within each sculpture. Using the known, and somewhat fixed parameters at the start of a sculpture, I allow the timber to follow its own path. And while I aim to guide a piece from beginning to end, there is an element of excitement in the creation process and as the final form emerges. To me this is the tie between the timber and the shell form. Both shells and trees each start from a singular point, and yet as they grow to a predetermined pattern, they are a product of their own growth, environment, and struggle.