The Scottish Gallery is delighted to present Juliette Bigley New Material Perspectives, which is a site specific exhibition in both the gallery and garden. Focusing particularly on lines and thresholds, Juliette’s work is sculptural and often comprises groups of objects. Base metals and precious metals are used to explore how we experience our emotional and physical place in the world.
New Material Perspectives will feature TABLE – an installation of vessels in various metals including copper, gilding metal, various brasses, nickel silver, mild steel, pewter and sterling silver. Her work starts as flat sheets of metal and is fabricated by hand in her workshop in Walthamstow using various traditional and contemporary metalsmithing techniques. Seams – the thresholds that lie within a form – are an integral part of Juliette’s work. The matt finishes she uses prioritise the form over the surface of the piece and the use of various heat and chemical patination techniques colours her work.
‘My practice is centred on ‘making’ as the method through which I undertake these explorations. The act of making – which encompasses both modelling and constructing finished pieces in different materials – is an action-led dialogue between idea and material that bridges the divide between our internal and external worlds. I typically make hollow forms, in varying scales that mirror the body by either physically or metaphorically containing, to create one-off sculptures and installations of objects. I often work with groups of objects that can be arranged and rearranged and that communicate both through the forms themselves and through the spaces in between them. I work in a range of metals including copper, gilding metal, various brasses, nickel silver, mild steel, pewter and sterling silver. Choosing the material for each piece is an essential part of my process as each metal has a different character that affects both the fabrication of the piece and the way in which the piece communicates.’
Juliette produced her first publication, Material Perspectives, in 2018 that offers an insight into her making process. Copies are available to purchase here.
