Archived Event: Sitting Without Purpose

Sitting Without Purpose
James Lake
1998
Cardboard, glue

Sitting Without Purpose by James Lake will be on show at Shape throughout the year.

Info:
'Sitting Without Purpose'

Is an ordinary man who, comes home from work, at the same time each day, takes a deep breath, turns on the TV and sits in his chair and wonders why. The piece questions the idea of what it means to be sitting down and the link between the perceptions of ability and disability.

This life sized sculpture is made entirely from recycled cardboard and glue. The detailing is created by carving away cardboard, then cutting and attaching increasingly smaller layers of cardboard until a life-like quality is achieved.

As an artist with a physical disability, I had to find a way that I could physically build a large scale sculpture using accessible materials and techniques. To overcome this, I built the sculpture in sections that I could assemble and fix together.

I have worked with this method and medium for many years as it is an inexpensive material, readily available and capable of creating sculptures of a scale and stature comparable to any other traditional art material. By using a utilitarian material I am able to make my art work accessible to a wider audience. Ingrained in my process is the desire to teach and demonstrate this working method so that regardless of status or ability others can access a way of realizing ideas into a three dimensional form.

Part of the Shape Collection