Directional Disorder is the third in my series of abstract and intuitive limited edition bronze relief sculptures. A series of sculptural mind maps, translating my subconscious thought into cranked clay relief and cast in bronze using the lost wax process.

Setting the scene

Epiphytic plant forms erupt, with knotwork like weaving of verdigris leaf, amidst the chaotic degradation of an oddly industrial, curved and adorned sub-structure. But at root level, writhing masses of ring headed worm forms, their tails exploring the perimeters of surrounding holes, nestle in a beds of variously sized orbs.

Attempting an interpretation

Like the inexplicable remnants of a half remembered dream, Directional Disorder defies easy explanation. Any interpretation I can offer draws on after-the-fact contemplation rather than any guiding principle.

Could Directional Disorder represent a tenuous cycle of life in microcosm? That is to say, some strange subterranean reprocessing where decomposition releases nutrients to fuel the growth of new life.

A psychological metaphor

Directional Disorder might also act as a metaphor for a parallel psychological process. Indeed the overall form does seem to inhabit the rough shape of a head and shoulders. So perhaps, albeit unconsciously, it represents a form of psychological self portrait, and the circuitous directional pointer an attempt to establish a path.

A darker interpretation

Yet is a darker interpretation of infestation not possible? Are the worm forms a parasitic infestation slowly destroying their host or spermatozoa and egg forms bent on reproduction? Their nature remains ambiguous.