Risley, Joanne
Biography
Joanne’s work follows a tradition of sculptural object making where craftsmanship and hand finishing remain important. She uses a range of media including bronze, Cor-ten steel, oak and mosaic. A range of techniques are also employed in the production of her art.
Statement
“My work follows a tradition of sculptural object making where craftsmanship and hand finishing are important, using a range of media including Cor-ten steel, and bronze. I am interested in the repeated forms found within diverse natural elements, linking the microscopic with the monumental and use mathematics in the construction and planning of my forms. I do not seek to copy nature, rather to absorb, filter and create something new from the things I have seen and the experiences I have had.
I like to be playful in my work and am drawn to quirkiness. I find the processes of conception, growth, flux and evolution endlessly fascinating and seek to capture something of the wonder and power of nature. I am making links between natural processes and politics and have an interest in the power dynamics between the public, politicians and the media. My forms are derived from botany and microbiology. By creating forms from geometric metal sections they become strange otherworldly objects which echo munitions and spacecraft.
My current body of work is mainly fabricated from Cor-ten steel using shapes drawn on a computer then laser cut and TIG welded. A lot of my earlier work involved building forms over an armature. I loved the armatures, skeletal forms appearing as three dimensional drawings in space. Some of my recent work allows the viewer to see through the forms, rendering microscopic viruses or seed pods as large outdoor sculptures.”
Email: joanne@joannerisley.co.uk