James Crisp – North Norfolk
James creates sculpture in wood – windows on the processes of nature.
About James
My relief carved wood sculptures are not wholly ‘designed’, as such, although there are many elements in each which reflect my choices and myself. Some of the pieces are very purist in terms of the ideas that I try to explain below, others are rich in symbology, allusion, intent.
The wood is chosen, arranged and presented, but as solid, natural wood, what is revealed is the reality/truth of the body of a (once) living organism, with all that entails- I see the beauty/appeal inherent in wood as a consequence of this.
The wood itself is then the first of my ‘Windows on the processes of Nature’, and most, though not all, of my carved woodworks are made to reveal the visual and structural qualities of the timber used in a very natural, accurate way. This is different from a focus on the tool-made marks, form and surface- the ‘designed’, though this aspect which reflects the methods and intent of the maker rather than the inherent qualities of the material is a part of all of my works, sometimes the dominant one.
Essentially, I feel that the medium and the method of these sculptures cannot help but reflect and represent varied aspects of the natural world in their forms- they come from the same process.