From Dawn to Dust

This display examines items in the Archive of Sculptors’ Papers that reveal how artists have engaged with the ephemeral materiality of time and natural processes.

Fragile ice sculptures contingent on the warmth of the morning sun, snow forms melted by urine, and works incorporating domestic dust and the residue of fire are explored through archival material.

The selection, made by artist Sarah Casey, offers insight into the process of making these works, including tools, photographic documentation of work in progress, sketchbook notes and preparatory work. Each reveals human action mingling with processes that might at first be thought ‘natural’, but on closer inspection these categories become blurred.

Dating from 1980 to the present, the items span a period of growing awareness of the impact of human traces upon the environment and the interrelationship between human and natural forces.

This selection provides only a small glimpse into the ways artists have collaborated with environmental materiality. For a broader view of these themes and a more diverse range of practices, we recommend the following recent publications, available to view in the library:

• RE/SISTERS: A Lens on Gender and Ecology, London: Barbican, 2024
• Groundswell: Women of Land Art, New York: DelMonico Books, 2024
• Radical Landscapes: Art, Identity and Activism, London: Tate, 2022