Much of my public work has to do with historic people or places. I value this, because I believe that in an increasingly a-historical age, the relationship of people across time is the ultimate defence of cultural heritage and of respect for individual perspective. It is important to me that commissions should be intellectually as well as artistically challenging, and offer the opportunity to give a voice to those things which are of timeless significance; and it is of personal value when they hold a Christian message.
Most of my work is to commission, public or private, and I value the artist / client relationship, because the challenge of other people’s ideas is a way of progressing one’s own thoughts. In recent years, where I have had the good fortune to gain an increasing number of public commissions, my respect for the process has increased. I have had to relate to and interact with not just individual but community involvement, and I have become convinced that the most valuable art is a joint creation of the artist and the society in which and for which he or she works.
Replacing the Statue of Black Jack