Angel Sculptures by Vanessa PooleyEco-Angel is the first in a series of angel sculptures. It was first shown at the Hostry at Norwich Cathedral.
So it was with ‘angels’. I’ve tried to work on the idea of angels before, as the notion of flying, thoughtful creatures and human forms with wings has long appealed to me. I’ve even had the odd skirmish with one in clay but the angel sculptures have never been resolved to my satisfaction. Arranging to exhibit at the Hostry was the catalyst I needed to have another look at the sculptures of Norwich Cathedral. I found the sculpted angels and people depicted on the roof bosses to be the most attractive and warmed to the simplicity of the uncomplicated shapes and their open, innocent and intriguing expressions. I noted that some had facial features that were drawn on in painted lines. Studying these angel sculptures, I was inspired back in the studio to experiment by 'drawing' features on my clay faces with scored lines. Soon a simple figure and face emerged which seemed to want to say something... It didn’t have wings but the idea that it was an ‘angel’ wouldn’t go away. The resulting bronze sculpture, 'Eco-Angel', is a bit different from my other work. It's my first standing figure for a long time and it resists being either male or female. Working on it I tried to forget 'my’ faces and concentrate on those tiny features of Mary in the Nativity scene depicted in a roof boss in the Cathedral with her sharp nose, severe but beautiful mouth, and wide eyes delineated in paint. I hope I have kept some of her simplicity. Another theme that had remained latent in my work for some time was that of global warming. I feel passionately that we are in terrible danger if the human race continues to use up the worlds resources as it does. Whilst the ‘Eco-Angel’ was developing I hadn’t decided how I could express my feelings about global warming. Our human relationship to trees seemed a starting point. Perhaps working on a tree might help? It was the first time I had developed a 'tree' shape. As ever, it wasn’t really a deliberate or planned form; the 'tree' just developed in its own way, a sort of cross between a flower, a tree and a cactus. Playing with the tree shape and figure together, I wondered what they could 'do' and ended up with the symbiotic relationship you see in 'Eco-Angel'. Humans and nature need to be mutually supportive. This angel is advising us to change our priorities to prevent further global warming and see how climate change is endangering us all. I hope that comes across. So 'Eco-Angel' has become the first of a series of angel sculptures.
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I am never really sure where my inspiration comes from. Ideas may occur and linger, sometimes for years, without finding shape. They have to be developed and worked at, although this process is often largely subconscious.