Martin Staniforth (Morth)

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‘Hope & Renewal’ is sculpted from 500 year-old timbers, burnt in the Royal Clarence Hotel fire. The charred wood rises again, like a phoenix. It won the top prize at the TRAIL outdoor exhibition in 2018.
‘Chaetonotus’, up to 1.5mm long in real life, is the largest pond-life gastrotrich. It lives in stagnant water and acts as a natural recycler. The upward motion of its ‘arms’ indicate vitality, growth and a new dawn.
‘Asteria’ captures the beauty of twisting bodies as they are held in the air – falling from grace or swooping for the stars?
‘Achilles’ has been inspired by classical traditions from ancient Greece. The bronze torso shows strength and vitality yet deep fissures hint at interior vulnerability, echoing the story of the weakness in Achilles’ heel.
‘Regeneration’ is an abstract form sculpted from mono-printed paper clay. Shards have been wired together, as if broken remains are reforming and evolving into a new being, a fragile emergence.
‘Recumbency’ is an abstract form sculpted from Maltese limestone. From different angles it might appear like a plant’s new shoots unfurling, a swan tucking its beak in its wings, a figure reclining or a wave crashing. The shapes of creation are echoed throughout nature.
‘Persephone’ has been inspired by classical traditions from ancient Greece. The bronze torso shows strength and vitality yet deep fissures hint at interior vulnerability, echoing the story of the annual descent into the underworld.
‘Hope & Renewal’ is sculpted from 500 year-old timbers, burnt in the Royal Clarence Hotel fire. The charred wood rises again, like a phoenix. It won the top prize at the TRAIL outdoor exhibition in 2018.

Artist’s Statement

My curiosity focuses on the theme of emergence, progression and the circle of life, drawing influences from the natural world. I learnt to distil strong narratives when working at Saatchi & Saatchi and this has helped me to develop 3D forms that make meaningful connections.

‘Achilles’ has been inspired by classical traditions from ancient Greece. The bronze torso shows strength and vitality yet deep fissures hint at interior vulnerability, echoing the story of the weakness in Achilles’ heel. The 4-metre high ‘Hope & Renewal’ is sculpted from 500 year-old timbers, burnt in the Royal Clarence Hotel fire. The charred wood rises again, like a phoenix. It won the top prize at the TRAIL outdoor exhibition in 2018. ‘Asteria’ captures the beauty of twisting bodies as they are held in the air – falling from grace or swooping for the stars? 

These set the scene for ‘Scension’, due to be displayed in Exeter Cathedral in summer 2021. Floating in the arches, we’ll see gracefully-shrouded figures accompanied by a soundscape that I have commissioned. The sculptures will be deliberately ambiguous. Are they rising or falling? Living or dying?

I was elected as Chair of the South West Sculptors in 2019.
Visits
By arrangement
Address
The Old Rectory Studio, 
Awliscombe,
Devon,
EX14 3PJ