Sculpture
Bill Woodrow
Twin Tub with Beaver
Bill Woodrow was one of a number of British sculptors to emerge in the late 1970s, his work makes use of discarded consumer goods. Twin Tub with Beaver being an example, an old washing machine and adhesive, 'wood effect' lining paper. Created is a surreal still-life, a bizarre 'incident', whereby the artificial beaver eats out his own form from the artificial wood, revealing the workings of the machine within.
In terms of wider comment, the piece might be said, especially in the ultra consumerist 80s - to be criticising a society too willing to guzzle and throw away rather than savour and reuse.
Woodrow's work is characterised by his use of domestic and urban objects to make sculptures in which the original identity of his materials is still evident. Since the late 1980s he has expanded his range of materials to include welded steel and cast bronze.
Born 1948 near Henley, Oxfordshire, UK
Lives and works in London.
Education
- 1967-68: Winchester School of Art, Winchester
- 1968-71: St. Martin's School of Art, London
- 1971-72: Chelsea School of Art, London
- Represented Britain at the Biennales of Sydney 1982, Paris 1982, 1985, Sâo Paulo 1983, 1991
- Finalist Turner Prize, Tate Gallery, London, 1986
- Winner Anne Gerber Award, Seattle Museum of Art, USA, 1988
- Trustee of the Tate Galleries 1996-2001
- Elected to the Royal Academy of Arts 2002
- Trustee of the Imperial War Museum 2003
- Governor of the University of the Arts London 2003
Article By: Dave Roberts.
First Published: 2007.
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