REVEALING HIDDEN LANDSCAPES: SCULPTURE OF ELEANOR LAKELIN

Eleanor Lakelin's body of work beautifully exemplifies the slow, organic transformation of nature, memories of the past, and her distinct contemporary vision. Exhibited at KALPA, three sculptures from her iconic series in horse chestnut burr, Echoes of Amphora, encapsulate the meeting of past and present, nature and culture. From an intense scorched colour palette ranging through bleached-creams, browns and whites, each of these pieces presents moments of twisted configurations of grain, bark inclusions, and voids.

Lakelin's work and refined technique deepen the archetypal concept of the vessel as a metaphysical container that carries the human soul. Her sculptures transcend the object's function as a container, bringing the artwork to go beyond its material integrity to reveal what lies beneath the surface.

“Ostensibly abstract, Eleanor Lakelin’s vessel-shaped sculptures abound in metaphorical resonance. They speak to the hand and the soul, conjuring sensory imaginings and visual narratives. They share an equal timelessness and sense of urgency." - Dr. Melanie Vandenbrouck, curator of Sculpture at the Victoria & Albert Museum

While an artwork's title can often unlock the artist's intention, the title Echoes of Amphora goes further. Its title directly evokes the memory of ancient forms, honouring something lost yet vivid in our collective imagination. Traces of the artist's fascination with timeless vessel shapes, like amphoras, jars, and urns, imbue these impressive horse chestnut wood sculptures, giving the viewer the impression of encountering something truly unique and majestic.

With reference to the classical, this series highlights the artist’s profound comprehension of her material. Lakelin only works with sustainably sourced wood from forests across Britain, choosing trees felled due to disease or decay, resurrecting them to something emotionally alive. When working specifically with horse chestnut, she privileges the burr, the area of knots and interlocking grain that reveals the tree’s stresses and struggles, transforming and distorting the normally smooth timber.

“There is something about this transformative process that reveals a truth within the wood. Bleaching pieces brings quietness, emphasizes their form and brings out their ethereal quality. I like the pureness of the color, like fossils or pebbles, bone has been bleached by the elements and its form softened by time.”

Lakelin's laborious process blends the traditional working tools of the lathe, chisel, and gouge, with modern carving techniques like sandblasting. The act of removing the bark reveals a secret ethereal landscape, seen for the first time, wherein the rhythm of nature becomes the protagonist of the artist’s investigation. The ultimate result of the work is surprising. Every vessel embodies the inherent beauty of wood in its natural state, where secret organic materials blossom before our eyes, revealing the primordial spirit of the tree.

Eleanor Lakelin studied sculpture, design and woodworking techniques at Guildhall University in London and West Dean College in Sussex. Her work is exhibited internationally and is part of prestigious private and public collections, including the V&A - Victoria & Albert Museum, London; MAD - Museum of Arts & Design, New York; the Museum of London, The National Museum, Norway; LOEWE Foundation, Madrid and the Mint Museum of Craft and Design. In 2020, she received a major commission from Reading Museum, supported by the CAS Rapid Response Fund and in partnership with Frieze London, to create a piece which memorialises Reading Gaol’s most famous inmate, Oscar Wilde.

Continue the journey to discover Eleanor's art and vision - watch the following short documentary filmed in the artist's studio:

"I’m fascinated by wood as a living, breathing substance with its history of growth and struggle centuries beyond our own. This proliferation of cells, formed over decades or even centuries as a reaction to stress or as a healing mechanism, is a rare, mysterious, and beautiful act of nature.” 

C R E D I T S :

Photography of Eleanor Lakelin in studio: Evan Mason @tender_moments, Courtesy of the Artist

Video: filmed by Simon Dawson, Joseph Doran, Michael Doran, Teddy Freeman, produced by Emma Crichton-Miller for The Design Edit TV, Courtesy the Artist

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