Nicola Anthony

on the edge

2022-2023, UK

A world on the edge of uncertainty

Broken and rebuilt glass vessels, metal, mixed media

Installation, size variable

This series of sculptures responds to the theme of a world on the edge of uncertainty. Created in response to the war in Ukraine, the sculptures seek to represent the very precarious nature of the world as we know it. The texts are the testimonies of people living through the war in Ukraine (written in the cyrillic alphabet, translation available via the related publication).

“The sharp edges of life can stimulate artists to create. Seeing fractures open up, we lose our balance looking into the abyss. An instinctive, universal sense overtakes us. Sculpting can confront inner turmoil or process crises, so we are driven to create in the wake of loss.

During the course of collecting stories we realised that disseminating these stories and letting them be heard as widely as possible was important. So rather than just becoming part of a sculpture (where part of its nature is abstraction), the testimonies are also presented in an accompanying publication with translations called ‘I want everyone to stay alive’. The publication was given away free during exhibition of these works, and is now available digitally. We are incredibly humbled to have been able to do this and to have been trusted by the individuals who shared.

Nicola Anthony, describing her creative process in the catalogue of ‘On the Edge’

Created for ‘On The Edge’, an exhibition in March 2023 by members of The Royal Society of Sculptors about the precarious world we live in.

• Read a blog about the creative process

• Read the publication and translations of Ukrainian testimonies here

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