Claye Bowler: Dig Me a Grave at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions EditorBook now
Claye Bowler: Dig Me a Grave
Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park presents its autumn offering: Claye Bowler: Dig Me a Grave is on displaying the Chapel and outdoors, in the park grounds.
The exhibition looks at graves and burial chambers as sites for introspection. This may sound like a somewhat unlikely combination but Bowler’s work revolves around the body, its transformations, and in this case, resting places – not necessarily eternal ones.
The artist draws on his experience of transness, queerness and disability, particularly with a focus on the periods he has spent waiting: waiting for acceptance, recognition or even medical access. He presents spaces to rest in as forms of care and eventually transformation: the piece My Breath Smells Earthly Strong offers visitors the chance to lie down and cover themselves with a blanket made from latex and soil, that feels not unlike a cocoon.
Outside the Chapel, you’ll find Hole in the Ground Radiates Trans Joy – a horizontal line of plaster plaques cast from earth with soil and pebbles inside. Each soil sample was collected by a trans person from a place connected with a happy memory. These works reflect Bowler’s close connection to the land, citing artists Rose English and Ana Mendieta as his inspirations.
As is often the case with artists who present their work at YSP, Claye Bowler feels a close connection with the Park itself, the collection and the natural surroundings: “Yorkshire Sculpture Park has always meant a lot to me. (…) YSP and its land is a place that feels like home, which is a key theme to my exhibition Dig Me A Grave. The Chapel’s calm and still atmosphere really connects with the exhibition’s encouragement for visitors to pause, reflect, and contemplate land, loss, and rest.”
Dig Me a Grave also includes a new commission, which will be made during the course of the exhibition. The new stone work will consist of an impression of the artist’s body lying in foetal position, carved into the surface of the stone, becoming part of the Park’s permanent display.
