Michael Jackson’s Sculpture:

To create something uplifting and beautiful from life’s detritus is an idea I have been contemplating for some time, and one that is finally coming to fruition with a series of sculptures, which embrace this philosophy.

‘Hippocampus’ a sculpture by Michael Jackson

I have always been fascinated by structure and form, the detailed anatomy of how a thing works and moves.

For the last six years I have been developing my skills as a sculptor, but not in the classical sense of the word. Rather than using traditional materials such as wax, plaster and clay to form an original, that is then cast in bronze, I choose to use the unforgiving strength of iron as a material for my work. I collect the unusual and discarded, each piece of iron has its own history, and some morsels are hundreds of years old and have been hand made by smithies, giving them a unique patina and texture that cannot be replicated. 

I begin by sketching out my ideas, conceptualizing and formulating a method of attack. I then start selecting principle pieces of iron from my collection to form the foundation of what I am proposing to make, welding each piece into place and bending it to suit and fit. I then sand blast and polish each part as it progresses; it is exhilarating to see something that was regarded as junk, come to life and be re born.

I have created a subjective body of work that reinstates the discarded and fuses it into something fresh, original and beautiful.

This collection is entirely unique, each piece is individual and has never been seen before. Each sculpture, and every element tells its own story of life and rebirth, but comes together ultimately in the true spirit of reincarnation and new life.

Visit Michael’s sculpture site