'Metamorphosis II'

1st May - 31st July 2014

Mark Cooke explores the striking and timeless beauty of Welsh slate in this series of wall hung works and freestanding upright sculptures.  His sensitivity to the material he uses maximises the inherent qualities found in slate creating a contemporary collection of work.

Mark began experimenting with stone after seeing the potential that cut and hammered chisel marks had on pieces of limestone whilst working on a large conversion project some years ago.  He felt such material offered something exciting and different, but slate was more available and was readily cut to allow easier handling.  Mark's early works were very simple, often being just square shapes of grey slate glued onto an iron rich slate to create contrast.

Mark aims to produce forms in slate which add a strong visual, tactile and solid material quality to any space.  His design ideas draw upon natural and abstract forms and he works in an open ended way; enables the creation of unexpected and unplanned designs.  Working with both smooth polished work and coarse naturally textured pieces Mark attempts to create an impression of flow or movement.  Other work seeks to capture the chaos and randomness seen in nature.  These concerns have enabled him to produce assemblages or groups of uniform pieces which can be combined to form sculptural mosaic panels.