COLUMN (aka Slaphead) is a sculptural Installation which was inspired by an old metal industrial coat locker which I rescued from a store room next to my studio which is situated in an old sprawling Victorian Mill. I had always been attracted to the piece of furniture because of its proportions, colour and general industrial, utilitarian starkness. When I emptied the old locker (which was labelled ‘Slaphead’) I discovered tucked inside a menacing hand-made Iron Knife. The knife and locker seemed to exude some historical and spiritual significance which I could not ignore.The column was also inspired by the proportions and form of some classical stone pillars in the gardens at Chatsworth House - carved Grecian heads balanced on tall pillars.

COLUMN consists of a hollow lead head on a base. The poisonous, protective and alchemic properties of the material are as important as the aesthetic qualities.Fragile white plaster heads surround and climb up the left hand side of the column towards the lead which is falling towards them as if both are trying to close the gap in between.

This is surrounded by a ring of broken glass held stable in wire. Caged inside the ring are two ferrule entities made from black oriental hair.  A second protective ring surrounds the glass ring. This is made from plaster knives cast from the one found in the cupboard.

The floor is covered in meandering rows of unreadable words and numbers written in chalk.