We may not have wings or leaves, but we humans do have words. Language is our gift and our responsibility. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, from Braiding Sweetgrass

Intonations is a site-specific installation that illuminates the fleeting moment between thought and expression, when possibility holds power. Chalk is a stone synonymous with language; bound up in crumbling cliffs words ripen, ready to spill onto walls, paper, pavement. Working on an intimate scale, Sarah Powell is interested in the relationship between people and objects. Drawing the viewer to examine details, sharpened tips of wands poised for action in a moment. Suspended utterances await their manifestation.

With nature as first point of reference, specifically the landscape of the Jurassic coast of England where she grew up, Sarah sources stones including Shale, Chalk and Flint found above the Earth’s surface, creating objects and sculpture that hold the memory of time’s transformation. Through the physicality of stone carving, thoughts around personal identity, belonging and our place as humans in the story of the natural world, find their form. Both fragility and resilience are explored simultaneously.

Working on the material plane parallel to the intangible, she evokes a sensual tactility. Combined with an evolving interest in archaeology, Sarah gives a poetic leaning to the long-standing narrative of our relationship with the crafted objects we give meaning to. By piecing together the knowledge that exists around these stones, their story unfolds through interactions with the body.

About the artist
Sarah Powell (b.1984 Dorset, U.K) studied a post-graduate diploma in Jewellery and Hollowware at the Academy of Fine Art, Munich (2020) and BA Fine Art (First) at Kingston University, London (2009). She has exhibited internationally since 2007 and is currently showing at the Koru7 art jewellery triennial at the South Karelia museum in Lappeenranta, Finland, running 29 October 2021 – 13 March 2022. Sarah is based in Unit 2, Studio 2-36.

Sarah Powell A4 Viewing Room.pdf

www.sarahlillianpowell.net

Images: Sarah Powell, Intonations, installation views, Thames-Side Studios Viewing Room, 2021, all photography courtesy the artist

Thames-Side Studios Viewing Room is located on the ground floor of Unit 8. Entrance to Unit 8 is via The Atrium. Turn left upon entering the main site, walk through The Atrium turning to the left, to find the exhibition located between studios TB-10 and TB-09. For more information email [email protected]

Viewing Room, Unit 8
Thames-Side Studios
Harrington Way, Warspite Road
Royal Borough of Greenwich
London SE18 5NR