Spotlight On: Ingrid Morley, sculptor, TBSSS alumni & guest teacher
Archive image of Ingrid working with a life model.
Name: Ingrid Morley
What years did you attend classes at TBSSS?
I attended classes in Broadway from 1988 - 1991. Guest teacher ongoing since 2011
What was your first impression walking in to TBSSS?
Broadway was a bewitching space, a complete contradiction to the torrent of traffic and city noise in the streets below.
What was your first impression of Tom?
Tom was charismatic, especially brilliant with words and he gave me a very good listening to at the time of our first meeting in 1987. I still feel he listens in, his luminous eyes blazing and his passion for sculpture as much alive in him then as it was in his final years, it was contagious.
What is your fondest memory of Tom and the Studio?
Tom mentored me through the early stages of a commission for Rookwood Cemetery from 1992. We were good friends by this time and as a result could row really well, it was wonderful. I never forgot what came out of those heated discussions. He was a generous, uncompromising mentor and friend.
How have your studies at the TBSSS prepared you for your practice?
Practical building blocks to my current practice and learning to be my own best critic.
What was your favourite medium to work in?
I don't have a favourite medium really, what I intend to make guides me to the material of choice as otherwise the artwork can become contained by the material alone. The material is one of the factors which keeps company with many others in finding how to articulate what I want to say.
What lessons / skills / concepts have stayed with you from your time at TBSSS?
As in my current work in steel, the life study has always been a touchstone for me as I return to it often to reconnect with an alphabet of never ending possibilities or when I want to ground myself in the honesty of a visual dialogue with another human with all it's challenges, mysteries, beauty and imperfection.
What inspires your practice today?
Life.
Tell us about the works you are exhibiting as part of the 50th exhibition:
Pru (1994) (above left), was the first work I took on in my own space, it was seriously challenging for me at the time as through the act of making, without a teacher, I began to explore my own 3D language, a confronting task.
Black Sheep (2019) (above middle), came many years later and at the time I needed to poke a bit of fun at the status quo.
The Past is Just Behind III (2023) (above right), I wanted to create a personal language that made sense of disintegration and life’s imperfections whilst embracing both joy and the absurd. Currently, machinery, landscape and the figure are integral to my sculptural practice.
Anything else you would like to share:
I miss him.
Thank you Ingrid!
Ingrid is represented by Defiance Gallery. You can see more of Ingrid’s work here, or on Instagram.
