Linda Johns

Artist's statement

My work explores the use of line and space to describe matter and the body through multi-dimensional drawings in sculpture, print and traditional drawing mediums – combining my interest in drawing, and how line can depict form, with the spatial presence and materiality of sculpture.

The starting point of my work is the natural world – both seen and unseen – what can be observed, but also what science and particularly physics can reveal. The body, nature and natural forms are depicted by paring down the detail to find the principle form.

We understand the scale and mass of our own bodies through everyday experience, and through this reference the lack of ‘matter’ and ‘solidity’ in my sculptures becomes more clearly apparent – their tenuous presence leading the viewer to question assumptions of the solidity and presence of their own physical form. Through creating figures that are mostly space, their volume described by line, the forms become generic, non-specific – viewers can join in with the apparent activity of the sculptures, placing themselves within a group, by an individual ‘in conversation', or sitting alongside the work as though with a companion.

The sculptures are made using metals and found natural materials to create the lines, resulting in work which often has the appearance of fragility but is actually surprisingly robust. The artwork exists as part of its environment – drawn from it rather than imposing upon it, the surroundings viewed within as well as around the sculptures. As the seasons change so the outdoor sculptures' interaction with their environment changes. The fine lines and their intersections attract moisture, with raindrops captured, and frost and mist forming upon them. Metal is used in its natural state, with the action of weather gradually transforming the colour and texture. On bright days, or in artificial light, the sculptures cast shadows on their surroundings, recreating their form in two dimensions.