Algae (2014)

Alice Channer explores the sculptural properties of volume, dimension, material and weight, often in direct relation to the body.

Algae consist of a stainless steel shelf and a curved steel pole. These intersecting forms echo the edges of a body. The pleated fabric that sits in the metal shelf relates to the sculptural quality of pleating. The image on the fabric represents shampoo, a product that through its conflicting associations acts as a symbol of glamour and yet also of industrial production. Overlaid on the image of shampoo is a digital image of black and orange imprints that were created by making a print of the artist’s own arm, leading to a human interruption in the industrial production. Nesting in the folds of the fabric are small plastic beads, which symbolise the raw material of today’s mass fabricated plastic products. The few, carefully-placed nurdles are like treasures hidden within the folds of the fabric and yet they wash up on shorelines across the world in large quantities, having a negative impact on our delicate marine ecosystem.

The acquisition of Algae (2014) not only augments a recent focus of Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery’s collecting policy to represent sculpture by women artists, but also relates to the museum’s existing collection of Textile Art and Photography.

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