JULY 3, 2024 JACKIE ANDRES

Artist Laura Ellen Bacon transforms hundreds of pounds of willow branches into amorphous, oscillating sculptures.

Laura Ellen Bacon transforms hundreds of pounds of willow branches into amorphous, oscillating forms. Ascending upward along the side of a building, wrapping around abbey columns, and situated in the English countryside as if manifested out of thin air, each monumental structure commands its environment.

“Don’t Let Go” (2019). Photo by Michelle Tennison

The Derbyshire-based artist has worked with willow for more than two decades. She describes listening to the material intently and noticing how each branch carries a unique line quality. Finding beauty in accumulation as she weaves countless segments together, Bacon creates what she refers to as “three-dimensional drawings.”[…]

“Split Forms” (2012)

More: Laura Ellen Bacon’s Monumental Willow Works Ebb and Flow in Amorphous Masses — Colossal