Sarah Bridgland at Man & Eve
Etiquette Adhesives, paper, enamel paint, found label box, glue, 156 x 95 x 74mm, 2009
Sarah Bridgland’s first solo show is on at London’s Man & Eve Gallery until 1 August
Sarah Bridgland trained as a printmaker, graduating from the RCA in 2006, but she’s now moved away from flat surfaces to create mini 3D-constructions out of carved paper and found objects. Her pieces – a cross between sculpture and collage – are on a tiny scale, some bursting out of matchboxes or old boxes of nails, and are meticulously constructed. They’re mainly made using printed paper or cardboard gleaned from junk shops – look out for maps, old boxes, letters, flags – and fragments of Bridgland’s own prints, but sometimes she rings the changes by adding something unexpected such as a toy soldier. And although the individual elements she uses are varied, they’re all from the mid 20th century giving the pieces a visual coherence and unity. The 20th-century theme also gives the pieces a deliberate sense of nostalgia. She explains: ‘Using forms and materials that are explicitly nostalgic, each element becomes part of a constructed history as time is re-arranged and the viewer is invited to re-experience the past in an entirely new way – half real, half imagined.’ But in spite of the nostalgia, the pieces are playful, energetic and above all, beautifully made – well worth checking out.
www.manandeve.co.uk
