About

In this exhibition Paul Stockley explores the human race’s complex and often destructive relationship with wild animals; it speaks about our care but also of our disregard for our fellow creatures.

His sculptures exude an aura of calm, beauty and serenity but at the same time there is often a sadness in the faces which reflects a tenuous existence and which resonates with an uncertain future.

Spirits of the wild will be exhibited in the beautiful outdoors of South Square Garden plus the Court Yard.

This exhibition is Paul’s first solo gallery exhibition and follows on from a successful joint exhibition in Sheffield in November 2023. For the past three years he has had annual exhibitions in his garden studio as part of ‘Open Up Sheffield’ and will be taking part again in May 2024.

Paul enjoys exploring the huge potential of concrete as a sculptural medium and experiments with the huge versatility that it offers. He particularly enjoys carving and, because he is using concrete, he has to work fast before it sets, something that encourages spontaneity and a bold approach in the initial stages. He doesn’t always know what he is going to carve before he starts and he makes abstract, impressionistic and also realistic forms such as animal heads.

He is interested in the psychological and philosophical process of creating art and the potential that it has to enable self- expression and to represent the hidden inner workings of the mind.

As well as carving he creates sculptures over armature which enables him to make larger more complex forms and his garden is full of larger pieces he has made, most of which are too big to be moved for display in this exhibition.