Party Animals
Laura Ford
Waldegrave Poodles, 2015
Patinated bronze
68 x 33 x 75 cm (each poodle)
2ft 2 x 1ft ⁹⁄₁₀ x 2ft 5 in.
Cast 1 of 6 + 2 APs
“The three works exhibited in the grounds at New Art Centre have been made at very different stages in my life. The oldest work is Twiglet which I first exhibited at Riverside Studios in 1991. The most recent are The Waldegrave Poodles which were made for an exhibition at Strawberry Hill House in 2015 and are based on a painting by Joshua Reynolds called The Ladies Waldegrave. In the painting the three sisters sit around a table doing Ladylike things but in my sculpture they have been turned into painted and pampered poodles sitting like they are being presented at Crufts. The concerns that unite this work and the others on show are issues around gender and power, visibility and invisibility. The works all contain a large dose of humour. They also draw on many familiar cultural references which makes them immediately accessible and once they have your attention they start to play with your assumptions and emotions. ”
Quirky, humorous, though sometimes menacing sculpture by Laura Ford have taken up residence on the Summer House Lawn at Roche Court Sculpture Park; Waldegrave Poodles (2015), Nature Girls (1998), and Twiglet (1991).
Waldegrave Poodles, an arrangement of three beautifully patinated bronze sculptures, was originally created in 2015 for Ford’s solo exhibition at Strawberry Hill house and gardens. They are currently on display on the Summer House lawn in the Sculpture Park.
Much of Laura’s work is known for being referential to its location, and the poodle’s debut at Horace Walpole’s gothic villa, Strawberry Hill, paralleled the quirky and peculiar traits of her work. The prim and proper, party-ready poodles are inspired by The Ladies Waldegrave (1780), a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds which is currently hanging in the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh. The painting was commissioned by Horace Walpole for the Great Parlour at Strawberry Hill, and depicts his three nieces, Lady Charlotte, Lady Elizabeth, and Lady Anna.
“Three young women sit around a small table, wearing white silk dresses and tall powdered wigs. They are occupied by domestic tasks: Lady Charlotte holds a skein of silk, which Lady Elizabeth winds on to a card, whilst Lady Anna makes lace on a tambour frame; they perform the kind of tasks that Ford still performs in her daily life.” – Extract from ‘Laura Ford’s sculptures’ by Dr Judith Collins in ‘Sculpture by Laura Ford’ (2015).
Laura Ford
Nature Girls, 1998
Bronze
Bush Girl - 100 x 45 cm / 3ft 3 ⅜ x 1ft 5 in.
Conifer Girl - 110 x 75 cm / 3ft 7 x 2ft 5 in.
Stump Girl - 90 x 40 cm / 2ft 11 ⁷⁄₁₆ x 1ft 3 ¾ in.
Edition of 6 + 1 AP
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Three small bronze trees, Conifer Girl, Stump Girl and Bush Girl with their little girls' legs and red painted shoes capture our attention. They are comical and unnerving. Their bright red shoes may remind us of our own childhood shoes and bring to mind Hans Christian Andersen's The Red Shoes, or perhaps Dorothy's in the Wizard of Oz.
Pictured left:
Laura Ford, Twiglet, 1991
Bronze
130 x 60 x 57 cm / 51 x 23 ½ x 22 ½ in.
Edition 1 of 5 + 2 AP
Pre-teenage girls were the first of Laura Ford's child figures, full of energy and anarchy. Twiglet with her Medusa-like hair and no facial expression confronts viewers with guns in her hands. Because we can't see her face, we are forced to confront her emotions through her stance.
Laura Ford is best known for her portrayals of children and animals, different imagined creatures with distinct anthropomorphic qualities. In this, she explores aspects of storytelling and the human condition. Laura Ford grew up on a fairground because her mother's family were show people who travelled the fairground circuit. When not on the move, Laura spent time at her grandparents' farm. With her early years spent in the company of farmyard animals and brightly painted merry-go-round creatures, it can be recognised that Laura developed a strong imagination of fairy tale characters and invented beasts.
Recent solo exhibitions of Ford’s work include Reveal and Conceal, East Quay, Somerset (2022); Gravity is my Friend, Galerie Scheffel, Germany (2021); and Playing Real Pretend, Howick Place, London (2020). Her work has also featured in several group shows including Sculpture Forever in the Now, at the Lightbox at Victoria Palace (2022); and The Other Side of the Coin at the New Art Centre, Salisbury (2021). The Waldegrave Poodles, as well as several other works by Laura Ford including Nature Girls (1998), can be viewed at the New Art Centre, Roche Court Sculpture Park.
Ford represented Wales in the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005 and notable solo shows have taken place at the Camden Arts Centre; the Arnolfini, Bristol; the Royal Scottish Academy and the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Connecticut, USA. Her work resides in many public collections including the Government Art Collection; the Tate Collection; Natural Museums and Gallery of Wales; The Meijier Gardens, Grand Rapids, USA, and the Gateway Foundation, St. Louis, USA. Ford studied at Bath Academy of Art (1978-82) and was awarded her MA by Chelsea School of Art (1982-83).
Listen in at Roche Court
Laura Ford in Conversation
Join us ‘in conversation’ with Laura Ford and GCSE Art students from Pewsey Vale school, discussing topics including the impact of childhood upon Ford’s career, her experience as a woman artist, and in particular, her intriguing sculpture ‘Espaliered Girl’ previously on display at Roche Court Sculpture Park.
Ford’s work often combines a sense of playfulness, suggested by her representation of children and fantasy, with uncomfortable and unnerving undertones. Her child-like sculptures are hybrid creatures with strange, faceless heads that convey a political message and speak to Ford’s feminist agenda.
Laura Ford has had solo exhibitions worldwide in countries such as Spain, Germany, the USA and even at the New Art Centre, Roche Court Sculpture Park. In 2004, Ford represented Wales in the Venice Biennale and her work is shown in many public collections including the Tate, V&A and the Government Art Collection.
Laura Ford, Nature Girls (1998) and Waldegrave Poodles (2015) on the Summer House lawn at Roche Court Sculpture Park.