British artist Nicholas Pope was best known in the 1970s and early 1980s for his
large-scale sculptures made of wood, metal, stone, sheet lead or chalk.
Following his 1980 exhibition representing Britain at the Venice Biennale, Pope was awarded a Cultural Visitor grant to Zimbabwe and Tanzania; an experience that affected the rest of his life and twisted his artistic practice completely.
In a move towards softer, more malleable materials such as glass, porcelain, moulded aluminium and ceramics, Pope began to make abstract works that reference complex themes of belief, suicide and society.
Liar Liar 2007–09
15 unglazed ceramic figures
Height: 73 cm | 29 in (approx.)
The Apostles Speaking in Tongues
Lit By Their Own Lamps 1993–96
Terracotta, metal, oil, wick, flames
Height: 300 cm | 118 in (approx.)
Installation view, Tate Britain, 1996–97