Drover (2025)

To be exhibited NOVIUM, Chichester; October 2025-May 2026

This recycled slate started to be be worked after its partner block Searching was completed in 2014. Through improvised mark making, it showed little progress until the time of the Every Step of the Way marble responding to my explorations above Amberley and Storrington. Moved to the vertical, the walking figure “appeared”. That is, the mind identified a previously-random selection of lines with an order which then informed further carving. Whilst Rehumanise (at Weald & Downland September 2025 onward) feels like an abstract, dreamlike landscape, Drover became increasingly representational. Its name plays on the outward story it ended with – a nod to the ancient users of these trackways moving animals who used dogs to help them, parallel with today’s recreational users and their pets – seeking both enjoyment and exercise.