About

A FREE sculpture trail on the King William Lawns, from artist Josie Spencer.

In her work, Josie Spencer expresses concern about the survival of the individual spirit and contemporary society.  In her view, external forces such as unrestrained capitalism and dominant authoritarian governments make their equilibrium precarious and threaten their future.

By capturing life size bodies in dramatic positions and applying colourful patinas, Josie Spencer diverts attention away from the traditional notion of beauty in figurative art and directs it towards the contemplation of the fragility of our life.  This is particularly highlighted in her fractured figures in which the viewer tries to imagine what the completed figure might have been.

The universality of the body allows the viewer to identify with her sculptures and fleetingly to sense or confront their own impermanence.  Josie Spencer does not claim to have answers to the dilemmas of human existence. Through her sculpture she demonstrates the beauty and resilience of the human spirit, while also expressing private fears, with her creations becoming a sometimes alarming invitation to self-reflection.