“The estuaries and coastline of Suffolk has been a source of inspiration for a number of years. Whether it is searching at low tide for wood, worn by time and tide, or collecting fragments from the boat yards, these found elements are relics of a history and time gone by. Using found river and sea wood in sculpture which has a previous life and a story to tell. I think this is why I am drawn to it. Although the wood I find has mostly been worked by man, nature has reclaimed it and shaped it over time”
(b. 1969)
Roger Hardy
Roger trained at Kingston upon Thames College of Art and Design (Kingston University) where he was awarded BA (Hons) in graphic design. He had a successful career as a designer in London before he started making sculpture and moved to rural Suffolk in 2000. Roger’s figurative constructions and sculpture made using found elements from local boatyards, high tides and estuary worn wood from the river Alde, could have been carved long ago. Roger uses the natural processes in the degradation of his materials to simplify the essence of the human form. He enjoys the act of revelation as they are abraded by the elements that lend a timeless quality to his sculptures. Cleansed of their original purpose his figures take on a totemic resonance that help us define the human condition. "As individuals we have a great desire to project our own humanity and emotions onto the most primitive human form".
I like working with sculpture. They are real, tangible objects. They inhabit space and time. I have been translating these sculptures into bronze which is adding a layer of permanence and following a centuries old tradition. I also work with plaster in combination with wood.
