John Goodliffe
Mankind has been deliberately making marks on the landscape for tens of thousands of years. We don’t know why early man did this. Where they ‘land marks’, affirming his or her relationship with a place? Was it to express an idea, or to work out an idea, or record information for others? Quite probably it was all of these, though not necessarily all at the same time. We see this in contemporary !Kung San rock art, Australian Aborigine art, Haida carving... and many, many more. The desire, the need to ‘make a mark’, is ubiquitous. So what I do is nothing new nor unique. However, I try to find a contemporary resonance, and to link time, place and material. And perhaps to recall those past mark-makers, to make them present. A sort of anamnesis if you like, a recalling, and a connecting with the human spirit, the deep folk memory. I have moved west from Poole, where I’ve previously exhibited during DAW, to Iwerne Minster. It is quieter here, and very beautiful. I feel a profound link to the land. Biographical note: John has been carving since 1990. He achieved distinction in Weymouth College and Bournemouth University’s “Architectural Stonework and Building Conservation” degree course and works as a sculptor and conservator. He exhibits during DAW and in various venues in the SW. He has major public works on Portland and in Poole, and smaller works in private collections in the UK, USA, Australia and British Columbia.
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