When Sarah Parker-Eaton and Louise Hibbert stumbled across each other’s work four years ago, at the annual Chelsea Craft Fair in London, they instantly recognised their designs were inspired by the same subject matter – marine biology. Although working in different media – Sarah comes from a silversmithing background, while Louise is a fine wood artist – they embarked on a unique collaboration which has resulted in their work being exhibited around the UK, at the international Sculpture, Objects & Functional Art expositions (SOFA) in New York and Chicago, and most recently, as far afield as Western Australia.
‘We were amazed at each other’s work, and immediately recognised the same source material,’ Parker-Eaton recalls of their first meeting. ‘We just thought we’d make one piece together in the future at some unspecified time… but it’s taken off from there, really.’
In early 2002, at the invitation of oceanographer David Thomas, the pair spent time in the laboratories at the University of Wales at Bangor, using modern microscopy to study the movements, interactions and myriad forms of planktonic organisms.
Through discussing and sketching their observations, Parker-Eaton and Hibbert progressed towards realising a range of three-dimensional works, which includes sculptural pieces, boxes, vessels and functional objects like salt and pepper mills.
The influences of microscopic sea creatures are evident in the works, but not blatant – inspiring the forms, colours and textures of sculptural pieces, such as Cryptamonads (pictured) or Euglena, which appear apple and pear-shaped, decorated with slightly raised dots and spiralling tentacle-like protrusions. The pieces are intricately fashioned, in such a way as it becomes almost impossible to believe a material like wood was the starting point. But this, Hibbert explains, is the result of the theory she works by, inspired by the Art Nouveau movement and the 19th century artist and biologist, Ernst Haeckel.
‘I want to use wood to transport elements of relatively inaccessible organisms to people in a visually appealing and tactile way,’ she explains. ‘When designing, I reproduce and emphasise certain decorative aspects that these creatures possess and combine them into single pieces.’
In 2002, the collection toured to both the Chicago and New York SOFA expositions, London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, and Surface + Form at Craftwest in Perth, Western Australia, as part of the ‘Designing Futures’ initiative – where the pair will be in residence for four weeks next month, running masterclasses with a group of fine wood artists.
The collaboration between Parker-Eaton and Hibbert is ongoing: apart from their individual projects, the pair are continuing to create new works which will again feature at SOFA in the USA later this year.
Quite a feat – considering the two artists are battling the tyranny of distance. While Parker-Eaton lives on the outskirts of London, Hibbert is based on the Wales coast. The pair communicate via telephone and email, occasionally coming together to research, sketch and discuss new ideas.
However, Parker-Eaton says the two artists communicate surprisingly well despite the distance, because they have so much in common, right down to the same book collection on marine organisms. The similarities extend to their work, and where there are differences, they are complementary, she asserts.
‘I think, in collaborations, [there is] not normally such a strong shared starting point. We’re so mad keen on the same things. When we look at something in a museum, in a book or down a microscope, we both see the same elements – in a slightly different way – but we’re excited by the same things.’
‘[Hibbert] can look at certain aspects and think, “Well, I can do that”, and I can look at certain aspects and think “I can do that”. And then, when you realise somebody else can take care of the bits you can’t do… it’s just fantastic!’
For Parker-Eaton, who limits her use of material to silver and gold, Hibbert’s vibrant use of color was an exciting element to work with. Hibbert’s signature materials are native kiln dried timbers, providing the ideal surface for transformation with airbrushed inks, coloured waxes and effects, such as scorching and carving.
‘Sycamore is my favourite, as it has a pale, even grain to act as a blank canvas for my designs, and a wonderful translucent quality that, when coloured, glows like the vibrant sea creatures my pieces are inspired by,’ Hibbert comments.
Parker-Eaton adds that the pair – both coming from design backgrounds – manipulate the materials to work for their designs, rather than being inspired by the qualities of the material itself.
For Lynda Dorrington, CEO of Australia’s Craftwest, this was the point of interest for her in Hibbert and Parker-Eaton’s work. Craftwest’s ‘Designing Futures’ programme aims to establish a fine wood industry in Western Australia – producing gallery pieces through to furniture – from the forest floor through to sales and marketing of internationally competitive products. She hopes international residencies, such as Hibbert and Parker-Eaton’s, will assist in changing perceptions of Western Australia’s timber industry.
‘We have an industry here which, while it is technically competent and turning out some beautiful work, uses the material to do most of the work – the resources themselves, rather than using design skills to guide the creation of the work. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve been particularly interested in Sarah and Louise – they have a fantastic collaboration between different media, but more importantly to me, there is not a single sign of wood anywhere! If you look at Louise’s work… it’s just a blank canvas for her to work on. And her use of colour is extraordinary. You could not get a more diverse application of the resource.’
Louise Hibbert and Sarah Parker-Eaton’s Plankton exhibition will be at the Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh. in June 2003, (call 0131 5581200 for further details) and at Model House, Llantrisant, Wales in August/September 2003, contact 01443 237758 for more information.
