Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Tall Purbeck stone sculpture with a central vertical opening and tapered peak, standing on a black granite base, showing fossil textures and carved geometry against a dark background.
Sy Wood

SULTANS GATE (One-Off)

This hard-stone sculpture embodies my fascination with the transformative power of material and spirituality and the cosmic interplay between nature's planetary timeline and our 'blip' of human intervention. The matrix of Purbeck Thornback stone is approximately 145 million years old. 

This stone sculpture is as tough as it comes. Its eroded outer form was bathed in acid to etch and release the textured matrix of sea life fossils from the early Cretaceous period within the hardened skin of this bedrock form. A reminder that we all will return to the fabric of the planet. 

The reclaimed stone was originally used for over 120 years as an oblong threshold to an old Victorian family home; the daily ebb and flow of foot traffic and its grounded energy still hums with a restrained vibration. 

The Thornback rock has an ancient ethereal weight and commands a definite energetic presence. I reshaped and reoriented its original oblong form into a tapered marker pointing from earth towards the heavens as a conduit of cosmic energies. By dividing and releasing its centreline with negative space, it creates a mirrored spiritual and energetic entity, like two praying palms being pressed closely together. 

It now channels and allows the release of its heavy energies, pulled from its locality back to the cosmos. The black granite base acts as an inert insulator from the earth. This form will now endure for thousands of years. It is hard for us humans to contemplate this scale of time - a period that will outlast empires. 

Hewn from a material that can withstand incredible wear, and energetically cleanse darkness and bring cosmic balance back to the space in which it is placed. I named it Sultans Gate, after the huge and ornate stone gateways popularized in early Arabic architecture. 

These gateways, in turn, will outlast the myriad of changes that come with our ever-changing civilization. 'Sultans Gate' as a single stone form will likely be around long after these tumble-down too without significant change. 

Sultans Gate challenges viewers to reconsider their relationship with the built environment, cosmic timelines, and the power of transformation inherent in even the most seemingly permanent structures or ideas. As an artist, I am drawn to the tension between preservation and renewal, and how this piece bridges ancient forms and traditions with modern sensibilities and transient materials. 

Through Sultans Gate, I invite viewers to contemplate the balance between stability and change, and how our creations can transcend time and purpose. This work stands as testament to the transformative potential of art, reminding us that even the most solid foundations can be reshaped to serve new purposes and inspire new perspectives.

  • Materials: Purbeck Thornback, Black Granite & 316 Stainless Steel
  • Size: 95 (h) x 41 (w) x 14cm (d) 
  • Weight: 40KG
£4,000.00
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  • Each piece is made by the artist - for details on provenance, editions, or commissions, please get in touch. Payments are securely handled by bank transfer to protect both artist and collector.

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