Bristol, England, United Kingdom
I am a UK-based Sculptor specialised in creating immersive, revealing and surprising sculptures and installations for heritage, corporate and the public sectors. My work is about revealing a playful quality in the daily world around us. I fuse craft practice (in particular, fine wood carving) and fine art thinking to create works which are humorous, revealing and thought-provoking. While exploring ideas, whether linked to a specific historic location or to the urban setting, I use wood and emerging technology to create dramatic experiences that unlock hidden or overlooked narratives. My work is grounded in the ability to connect the onlooker with a story in the medium of wood, woods materiality and my makers touch. Identifying connections with wood and using them as the bases of research then making is a powerful technique I have developed over the past 10 years. I have honed this skill through my many heritage projects within the National Trust, museums and corporate clients. I am a resident artist with the Pervasive Media Studio within Watershed, Bristol’s supportive community of people committed to exploring the connections between art and technology. As a studio resident I am fusing the high tech and the high craftsmanship associated with being a maker. I am being supported conceptually and logistically by their creative producer team and technological staffing to help develop and deliver ambitious scalable projects. My work has resulted in experiences that ground the viewer through the physical craftsmanship of the objects I make and elevate their concept and story using technology. https://www.alecstevens.co.uk
I was chosen with my collaborator Jo Kimber through a call out application to create an accessible trail around Weymouth, introducing visitors and locals to a newly commissioned series of sculptures. Over the next 4/5 months we will be engaging with various local community groups asking questions linked to the great British past-time of going to the beach and its importance to many and the future of a space that hangs in the balance due to rising sea levels. Results will be shown to the public in October of this year when all sculptures will be sited. This project is funded by Weymouth Council and managed by B-Side Festival.
I was chosen through a call out application to be part of 'Wetlands Unravelled'. A staggered, commissioned group show within the London Wetland Centre in Barnes, London. The exhibition is organised by Unravelled Arts. I have made sculpted works linking the wetlands to areas of the world that are vulnerable to sea level rise / expansion. The three Sculpted interventions are now on show until November 14th 2021. find more information about the project here, https://www.alecstevens.co.uk/thatsinkingfeeling "Wetlands Unravelled will challenge artists to respond to this unique wetland environment by exploring issues of conflict through conservation, climate change and migration." - Unravelled Arts
My work is about revealing a playful quality in the daily world around us. I fuse craft practice (in particular, fine wood carving) and art theory to create works which are humorous, revealing and thought-provoking. While exploring ideas, whether linked to a specific historic location or to the urban setting, I use wood and emerging technology to create dramatic experiences that unlock hidden or overlooked narratives. I graduated from 3D Materials Practice in Brighton in 2011. I currently live and work in Bristol & London. Shortlisted for the Jerwood Makers Open Prize 2018, Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon prize 2015 & the Aspex Gallery Craft Emergency prize 2013. I have worked in The National Trust in four separate properties, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery, The National Centre for Craft and Design, CCA Gallery London, Watershed, Manchester Craft and Design Centre, Aspex Gallery, Winchester Discovery Centre & West Dean House and Gardens.
As part of Watershed's annual New Talent Residency programme that supports ambitious practitioners to develop creative technology projects I was commissioned in a R&D capacity to develop an experience that reveals stories related to the LGBTQ+ community within the streets of Bristol. Working with Creative technologist Nikki Hogg and Writer Jo Kimber, we made a test piece that develop an experience using mobile phone technology, storytelling and sculpture, creating a city-wide experience that reveals stories as the user makes their way through the city. We applied as a group through an open call. From over 150 applicants we were narrowed down to a group of three project groups that we were a cohort of. I am a still a resident artist beyond the initial residency with the Pervasive Media Studio. I am being supported conceptually and logistically by their creative producer team and technological staffing to help develop and deliver ambitious scalable projects. My work has resulted in experiences that ground the viewer through the physical craftsmanship of the objects I make and elevate them concept and story using technology.
The residency, which has come about as a result of lockdown, will run throughout the summer and see myself explore digital technologies to make a new body of work. With funding from Arts Council England and support from the Pervasive Media Studio at the Watershed in Bristol, I will be working from my studio to look at how technology can make the viewing experience more participatory and interactive for an online audience. More information: https://www.westdean.org.uk/about/media/school-of-arts-1/alec-stevens-remote-artist-in-residence
Through invitation from Head of School Alison Baxter, I am presently the colleges Maker in Residence. Whilst at West Dean College I am exploring and responding to the estate’s unexpected decorative elements. I will make and display an intervention that plays with surrealist humour via the medium of sausages and my love of herringbone parquet flooring.