O, I, M, I
O, I, M, I by Ben Pearce for SCAPE Public Art Season 2018

Ben Pearce, based in Hastings, has pursued a focused investigation of sculptural form, working in wood, stone, metal and found objects. He produced a suite of four works for SCAPE that utilised elements or remnants of the construction industry (for example: an offcut from a steel ‘I’ beam, a sliver of a steel pipe, sheet steel) and refined them, exploring their potential to shift from one form of ‘vocabulary’ (construction related) into another (that of sculptural forms), while also referencing written language. He represented a clutch of vowels which are found in both English and Te Reo.

His works explore aspects of memory, and seek to materialise emotional states. This transmutation of inner states into three-dimensional forms has included works that relate to geological forms, objects that resonate with experiences from childhood, precarious built architecture and the human brain. His aesthetic has a noticeable delicacy, combined with a strong tactile sensitivity to material qualities.