I'm not generally a huge fan of sculpture per se, I'm normally more of a flat-art-on-a-wall fan, but a weekend visit to the amazing Yorkshire Sculpture Park may well have changed all that. We popped in on our way down the M1 to see the exhibition by Sophie Ryder, currently showing in the lower fields area and we weren't disappointed.'Ryder’s work draws on human, animal and mythological forms, melding the attitudes and instincts of each to create a series of hybrids. Ryder has developed a narrative around the Lady-Hare; a creature with a hare’s head and the artist’s own female body. Through this character the artist examines the human condition and plays out her own emotions'.
What the official blurb fails to mention is the sculptures are also awesome. They're huge, they're half rabbit half person, they're bonkers and they're just ... lovely. Best of all for me, there's a rubbish link here too... Ryder's works from a distance appear to be simple cast metal but on closer inspection, just like my own pieces, theres a whole wealth of discarded household 'stuff' in there to be found!
Bike chains, bits of machinary, old toys. What a selection of truly great things to gawp at.
