Philip Wakeham

Born 1971. Studied at Exeter College of Art and initially worked with pewter, completing various commissioned pieces, but in the last few years has worked exclusively in bronze.

Artist’s Statement:

“When working to commission, my designs are obviously very much inspired by the client and the details of the commission. My personal work is -rooted in the figurative tradition and the natural and man-made environment, whilst drawing on the ideas of Carl Jung, and Iain McGilchrist. The beginning point for my work is the human face & body. Ideas such as myth and the divided brain are central to my work & belief in the fundamental importance of visual art in being human. I start by working in clay from life, then through a complex series of processes end with the completed work in bronze. Unlike most sculptors I cast my own work in bronze, which allows me to use the whole process in a creative way, and so is essential to producing true beauty and fidelity.
It is the human face and body that links all my work, even when the natural and man-made imagery are seemingly disparate. Because I create the whole work from the original to the bronze casting I can control the process. As important as control is, chance and serendipity are essential to the work, breathing in a life and reality that can’t be faked.”