Collections

Zig - Zag

Sculptor: Rand, Keith John, RSA · 1956-2013

Zig - Zag

"Zig Zag is carved out of two pieces of lime wood. The two blocks were the same size as/ each other prior to carving and were cut from a large board…

"Zig Zag is carved out of two pieces of lime wood. The two blocks were the same size as/ each other prior to carving and were cut from a large board which I had carefully/ marked out in pencil. It is important to keep the two blocks adjacent to one another/ when taking sections out of a log or board so that the expansion and contraction is/ more even as the wood responds to the atmosphere. As wood is a living material the / movement can be different from one section of a board to another and I give a lot of/ consideration to this matter when pairing two sections of wood prior to carving. There are several pages in my sketchbook with lots of lines crossing and harmonizing/ with each other drawn from observations of fence lines crossing the chalk downs near/ to where I live, also studies of dried leaf forms. These dried leaves have interesting/ folds and creases which convey something to me which I wish to explore in my work./ When I begin a new carving a line is drawn on the side or face of the block, which I then carve to, and the work then evolves from there. The first section is never finished/ before I begin a second section. Before the second block is begun it is placed along side/ the first carving and the lines from its edges are drawn in tandem onto the second/ block. What I try to do is harmonise the movements and to fit the two forms/ together as I carve. Zig Zag is an interlocking sculpture and if you look into the top section from above you/ will notice a small carved section in boxwood which acts as a locking device for the two/ parts. At the base of the work the two sections slot together and fit into one another. I / relate these features to plant forms although this sculpture has very strong figurative/ qualities, relating to a series of 'silent figures' I was carving at the time. Zig Zag was exhibited at The Stephen Lacey Gallery, London in 2002 and had been in my private collection prior to submitting the work to the RSA" (letter from Keith Rand to the Collections Assistant, 2006-05-14, letter is in Rand's file) See also letter from Rand to Ian McKenzie Smith dated 2005-10-23 "I hope the enclosed sculpture Zig Zag will be accepted by the Assembly/ It is a three part carving, the two major sections have been carved from the/same block of lime whilst the internal lock at the top has been carved in/ boxwood. The work is an example of the carvings I have been developing these/ past years and was included in the first show I had in London at the Stephen/ Lacey gallery in 2002. All the other smaller works from that show have found/ homes but Zig Zag was never for sale and has remained in my possession." (copy of letter in Rand's file)

© The Artist's Estate