Past Exhibitions / Structural Shift

The economic term ‘structural shift’ has moved into common parlance as we confront daily the changes being made to transform our economy. The sculptural works of Olivia Bax, on show in the heart of the financial district, are of our time, resonating with today’s economic reality.

Just as the economic term relates to moving the parameters of an entity, so does Bax’s work. Bax creates active, dynamic and unpredictable metal sculptures that evoke change, movement and progress. Her sculptures have an inherent scope for structural transformation. Her concern is to produce work which can convert from one form to the next, offering a variety of different arrangements while maintaining an intrinsic balance. Bax’s interest in the re-presentation of forms highlights the wish for a working, progressing, flexible system.

For the exhibition at Moorhouse Bax presents SHIFT I, II, III and CIPHER.

The SHIFT series is Bax’s most recent work. It has been designed so that each sculpture comprises different components. The work can be dismantled and reassembled in different configurations. So the way that they are presented for the exhibition is only one of many possibilities. The integrity of each individual work in the SHIFT series relies on the particular use and distribution of its components. The sculptures may look somewhat precarious in the way they are positioned but this deception deliberately suggests that there is always more than one answer.

CIPHER is a large stainless steel sculpture which can work on multiple elevations. It is part of a previous series which explores the changing facets of fixed metal sculptures. By relocating this sculpture to Moorhouse’s lobby, Bax aims to emphasise the autonomous character of CIPHER’s mutability. Sir Norman Forster, who designed this building, stated that his ‘mission is to create a structure that is sensitive to the culture and climate of its space’. By engaging on the level of the monumental with a larger variation of her modular system, Bax uses the language of functionalism inherent to architecture, while ensuring that the angular structure and the systemic combination it offers merge gracefully with the environment it occupies.

Olivia Bax graduated from Byam Shaw School of Art, Central Saint Martins with first class Honours in June 2010. She now works as a studio assistant for Anthony Caro and has her own studio in SE1 where she continues to develop her practice.

Selected exhibitions:

2010
RHIZOMATIC, The Departure Gallery, London
The Boardroom, University of The Arts Headquarters, London (2010-2011)
BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree Show, Byam Shaw School of Art, London
CONCRETE, The Crypt Gallery, St Pancras Church, London

2009
Archway Open House, Holloway Arts Festival, London

2008
Art Against Knives, Shoreditch Town Hall, London

2007
Foundation Diploma Degree Show, Wimbledon College of Art, London

Website: www.oliviabax.co.uk