The puppets

The puppets came literally out of the wood work. They originated after my parents died and we were told we had only two weeks to clear everything out of their council house which they had been living in for decades. This started me thinking about the plight of people generally, where the material things that sustain life are often put to uses which are not in the best interest of most people. At this time i was walking down Railton Road and I saw a banister in a skip. I took it back to my workshop and started carving it and a foot appeared in the wood grain.

Since this time I have produced many carvings which take the form of puppets, many of them from timber which has a previous history like chair and table legs and door and window frames. The wood is seen to contain the memories of the people that made and used them. The objects are given mouths to speak back as though the forgotten people speak back. Their names are derived from relatives and friends from years ago that took on a mythical significance. Characters like ‘Ron Barret’ who worked with my dad and knew everything and did everything but who we never actually met.

Keiff who used to drive a Mondeo and had an unfortunate marriage to Ruth.