Marjan Wouda Sculpture

I am a sculptor and all-round visual artist, with work spread far and wide, from New Zealand to the Caribbean and the US. Originally from the Netherlands, I trained at art colleges in London and Manchester. Most of my work starts with a story; while it often features an animal, I am passionate about exploring the human predicament in a way that is engaging, accessible and a little curious. I believe that an animal in a deliberate pose can draw us in and let us ponder.

I love the adventure of the making process, exploring materials and allowing them their voice: delighting in cardboard (distressed and torn), clay (raw, textured and lumpy), ink (splattered or soaked up into thick wet paper), or charcoal (smudged, rubbed, re-drawn and crushed underfoot).

My work varies in scale enormously, from small sand-cast bronzes or (sometimes) unique pieces cast through the lost-wax process, to drawings and monumental work in sheet metal or rod. I particularly enjoy making work for outdoor spaces be they gardens or the (wild) public realm.

I make books in collaboration with writer and storyteller Jacqueline Harris telling folkloric stories through words and images, and am one of the founder members of Beggars Belief Collective, an arts and theatre company in residence at Darwen’s Library Theatre.