These sculptures have been made of undyed local sheepswool from Dartmoor, and felted into shapes that mimic the ancient granite stone from the same land, but also suggest the company and animacy of sheep. I want the sculptures, in their clustering or grouping, to suggest the idea of a flock, one that might lead you, might shelter you from sidelong winds, might form a wall. The sheepswool in these sculptures was brought from Dartmoor which surrounds Tavistock, a town knitted deeply into its rural fringing; its wealth derived for many years from its status in the wool trade.
Famous for its granite stone, the town and moors are made from these stones, shaped and worn by the elements, carved for the Abbey, circled into huts or animal pounds. The archaeological history of the town and moorland are constantly re-sedimented into everyday life, iron-age circles made visible by grass-nibbling sheep, the town's crest featuring a swaddled and suspended sheep.
The granite of Dartmoor is rubbed at by sheep, made smooth and animate, despite its ancientness, by the shoulders of animals, the constant friction of gate loops over stone. These sculptures can cluster, encircle or string out, scattered through 'hefting' or huddled against squalls. They can climb like the hardier Dartmoor ewes, they can line up, gazing skywards, they could circle like a traditional hut circle or pound formation, they can be scattered. Their installation mode is variable according to the space available. They are enormously tactile, friendly even and their grouping imparts different moods and meanings.