Ascend and Renew
January 2025
Retired Climbing Rope
H: 1 metres 20cm W: 1 metre D: 1 metre
This piece is created using retired climbing rope—a material reclaimed from waste and given a new purpose. The artist faced the dual challenge of crafting a structurally sound work while sourcing materials that align with their vision.
Working with recycled materials meant adapting to what was available, from variations in colour to differences in thickness. While the original intention was to achieve a uniform look, the diversity in tones and textures has become a defining feature, adding an unexpected beauty to the sculpture. The rope, carrying the history of its previous use, has been transformed, with its mismatched colours, wear and tear, and discoloration fully embraced—elements that might once have been avoided are now integral to the piece’s character.
This marks an exciting new chapter in Sams journey as they pivot toward creating works with minimal environmental impact. However, building a sustainable practice comes with its own challenges, including sourcing materials and connecting with businesses that share these values. The artist’s commitment to a ‘waste-to-resource’ philosophy underlines the importance of collaboration in fostering sustainability and rethinking the life cycle of materials.
Seed of Possibility
October 2024
Macrame string, copper and orange acrylic spray paint
H:12cm W:45cm D:30cm Weight:0.15kg
This piece is all about personal growth and transformation. It started life as a fragment from another work, but it quickly took on its own identity, evolving into something entirely different.
Using a traditional knotting technique, which the artist has fine-tuned through plenty of trial and error, they’ve created a sculpture that’s not just strong but also packed with potential for further exploration. They’re clearly excited to see where this journey takes them.
What makes this piece stand out is how open and honest it feels. You can look straight through its construction and get a real sense of the process behind it. Unlike their usual polished approach, the artist has left this one raw and unfinished—deliberately exposing its inner workings. That choice adds another layer of meaning, reflecting the beauty of growth and the messy, fascinating story behind it all.
Pendulum Wave ( Kinetic Sculpture )
July 2024
String, recycled golf balls and acrylic spray paint
Height: 2mtrs 5cm Width: 82cm Depth: 5cm
This piece is crafted from recycled acrylic-sprayed golf balls, each carefully enclosed by a unique knot of vibrantly colored string. A specific knot technique has been employed for the main supporting string, ensuring both structure and aesthetic cohesion.
The work takes inspiration from the Pendulum Wave, a mesmerizing system where pendulums of varying lengths swing in harmony, producing dynamic wave-like patterns. The oscillations result in an evolving spectacle that shifts between traveling waves, standing waves, and chaotic motion.
Originally conceived as a performance piece for a duo exhibition at the OXO Gallery on London’s Southbank, it was designed to spark conversations and foster connections with the audience. Its interactive and visually engaging nature captured the imagination of both children and adults, proving to be a crowd favourite throughout the exhibition.
One Knot at a Time
June 2024
String Sculpture
Macrame string, neon green florescent spray
Length:29cm Width:21cm Height:11cm Weight:0.13kg
It begins with a single, solitary knot. Then another, and another.
In this sculpture the artist wanted to show the power of simplicity. The most basic forms can often be the most dramatic and satisfying.
This oversized knot is made from lots of square knots to form a tube and then knotted into a loose overhand knot.
The overhand knot is one of the most fundamental knots laying the groundwork for many others, including the Overhand loop, Angler’s loop, Reef knot, Fisherman’s knot, and Water knot.
Reactive
February 2024
String Sculpture
Medium: Gold and Red String
Width: 35cm Height: 10cm Depth: 19cm Weight: 0.08kg
The artist, known for their meticulous planning and vivid imagination, usually envisions the final form of each piece before beginning. However, this particular sculpture marked a departure from their usual process.
Starting with no clear idea of the outcome, the artist embarked on a journey of discovery, guided only by an initial inspirational knot. The creation process was entirely reactive, embracing the improvisational nature of art. This approach required a profound faith in their ability to produce a satisfying sculpture, relying on blind faith that the structure would support itself and turn out well.
This method of working brought a sense of freedom, as there were no preconceived notions to meet, thus eliminating the possibility of disappointment. Yet, it also introduced a significant level of uncertainty, demanding immense self-belief and perseverance to see the piece through to completion.
The sculpture features four specific fisherman’s knots, including one traditionally used to create rope ladders. Through their ongoing exploration of knots, their functions, and techniques, the artist continues to be amazed by their versatility. They approach each project with a clear vision of the knot’s purpose, seeking the perfect knot to fulfil the intended role.
The White Wreath
January 2024
Rope Sculpture
Medium: White 6mm Rope
Height: 67cm Width: 67cm Depth: 14cm Weight: 1.19kg
In this latest sculpture, Sam reflects on the cycle of life and its fragility, inspired by the loss of many of her friends and family members in the past year.
The sculpture, titled “The White Wreath”, is made of thick rope that forms the circular shape of a wreath, a symbol of both celebration and mourning.
The artist challenges herself by working with a new material that requires a different technique and approach, as well as facing the emotional challenges of confronting her own mortality.
She reminds us that the sculpture is a testament to the value and brevity of life, and how we should cherish it. The result is a powerful and poignant work that invites the viewer to reflect on life and death.
Gravity’s Grace
November 2023
String Sculpture
Medium: Macrame string
Height:70cm Width:14cm Depth: 15cm Weight: 0.05kg
Inspiration for this new work comes from the old fisherman’s knotting techniques used on sail boats. In this piece, what has emerged from a specific knot type and nature’s force of gravity is a form that has evolved, is not contrived or placed. The artist has used the string to convey energy and movement, and the curves of the sculpture invite the viewer to follow them.
Initially the artist started this piece with the motivation to portray a sense of chaos in their life at the moment but ended up creating something quite gentle and curvaceous. Maybe this suggests that there is beauty and serenity amidst the chaos, we just have to find it.
Order from disorder
September 2023
String Sculpture
Medium: Free standing Sculpture – Invisible String
Width:18cm Height:12cm Depth: 18cm Weight: 0.08k
This piece reflects the creative struggle with a challenging material.
The artist uses invisible string, a high-tensile and unwieldy material to create an intricate, almost glass-like structure.
The string is unpredictable, unruly, and resistant to the artist’s attempts to shape it. The artist has used various methods to tame it, such as pegs, tape, and knots, but the string has a mind of its own. It unravels and twists in unexpected ways.
The result is a piece that is both organic and uniform, chaotic and harmonious. The artist embraced the spontaneity and surprise of the creative process.
This piece is a response to their physical and emotional journey, as they overcame the challenges, string burns, eye strain, frustration, and doubt to reveal the hidden beauty of the invisible string, the fractile-like patterns in its form and delicate shapes cast by light and shadow.
Come Together
August 2023
String Sculpture
Medium: Silver & red string
Height: 10cm Width: 34cm Depth: 22cm Weight: 0.06kg
This piece is a celebration and an expression of the intimate connection between human beings. It goes beyond the superficial level and delves into the deeper subconscious and the essence of connection.
The act of joining or uniting physically, is a primal and powerful way of nourishing the human psyche and creating a bond, a connectivity, a closeness. It is a delicate and fragile balance that can be easily broken or lost.
The chains in this piece represent this balance. They are intricate and vulnerable in their nature.
Every end is a new beginning
March 2023
String Sculpture
Medium: String (using Macrame techniques), wood and copper
Height: 60cm Width: 60cm Depth: 60cm
The artist explores the tension between concealment and disclosure in their latest sculpture, a cube that symbolizes their personal boundaries and self-image.
The cube is both a container and a construct, holding the artist’s emotions in the form of words inside, while also reflecting the artist’s choices of what to reveal and what to withhold.
The sculpture invites the viewer to question the nature and origin of privacy, and how it shapes our identity and behaviour. The artist suggests that privacy is not a given, but a result of inhibition, and that without inhibition there would be no box.
Gold Tetrahedron (Triangular Pyramid)
March 2023
String Sculpture
Medium: Gold string
Height: 55cm Width: 55cm Depth: 55cm
This three dimensional sculpture was created using knotting techniques. It was constructed in 4 parts of equal length which was challenging as every knot had to be measured for equal distance so it would create a Tetrahedron.
The Diamond
February 2023
String Sculpture
Medium: string / florescent pink spray
Height: 50cm Width: 29cm Depth: 29cm Weight: 1kg
Hanging Instructions: Hung using strong invisible thread – can be adjusted to hanging length with loop at top, hung on hook eye from ceiling or beams.
This three dimensional sculpture was created using macrame and knotting techniques. The main knot used is a square knot.
Structurally this posed many challenges. It was created in eight separate parts, then four parts joined together to form the top and four to form the base. They were then combined to form the diamond.
This is part of my ongoing research into knotting techniques.
Silver Orb
January 2023
String Sculpture
Medium: Silver string
Height: 54cm Width: 50cm Depth: 50cm Weight: 175g
Hanging: Hung using strong invisible thread – can be adjusted to hanging length with loop at top, hung on hook eye from ceiling or beams.
The Orb is the first in a series of planned works where the artist was keen to develop intricate, tactile structures to show how they can support themselves, even given the delicate and flexible nature of the material.
Silver Orb won Finalist in Sculpture at the Visual Artist Organisation (VAO) Top 5.
Concrete sculptures created in Lockdown.
