SIOBHÁN HAPASKA

Siobhán Hapaska’s sculptures present a powerful investigation of conflict, faith and the human condition. Her work uses a dazzling array of materials, each loaded with history and multiple readings: olive trees, deerskins, coconuts, wheat, moss and sheepskin come into contact with sleek aerodynamic forms, aluminium, engines, artillery, concrete cloth and industrial machinery. Ushering these disparate materials into forms that feel anthropomorphic or animalistic, the resulting works spark humour and pathos, reflecting upon our place in a world filled with violent opposing forces and conflicting ideologies. Sometimes kinetic, moving or shaking, many of Hapaska’s works reference travel, rootlessness or displacement, with trees uprooted and plants cast among strange mutant landscapes of opalescent fibreglass. Though they carry a sense of disquiet, her works are always a testament to the perseverance of hope, desire and longing in the face of adverse global conditions and political or spiritual unrest, often undershot with a dark wit, a playfulness, and a devotion to physical objects as transmitters of empathy and emotion.