The Excitable Alphabet brings together a new series of works from my ongoing collaboration with poet Jenny Bornholdt. Jenny’s writing moves through the works in fragments, which I shape into sculptural forms. Letters and words become physical, arranged, repeated and set into motion, circling outward or stacking vertically.
This new body of work also explores new ideas, forms and materials. The exhibition includes my largest works in 3D printed sand to date, with two large blue totems pushing the scale of the material into new territory.
The alphabet here is not fixed but active. It shifts, rearranges and reappears across the works. Words are not always immediately visible. They reveal themselves gradually as you move around the forms, turning reading into an act of discovery.
Gallery View
Gallery View. Showing Excitable Alphabet, Stone and Ragebait.
Erratic Rose 2026, dyed nylon, edition of 25, 230 x 54 x 54 mm
Excitable Alphabet 2026, coated quartz sand, 700 x 130 x 130 mm
Oceans of Pale Stones 2026, coated quartz sand, 682 x 125 x 125 mm
Bright Particulars, Upside Down Ducks and The Stuttering Now. Dyed Nylon, Steel Stand, 360 x 360 x 20
Tumble and Fall 2026, coated quartz sand. Various sizes.
Tumble and Fall 2026, coated quartz sand. Stacked version.
The world spins 2026, dyed nylon, 710 x 735 x 30 mm
Boats in a harbour 2026, dyed nylon, 766 x 758 x 30 mm
Boats in a harbour and The World Spins word views.
Excitable Alphabet 2026, coated composite ABS, 1500 x 200 x 200 mm
Excitable Alphabet 2026 word view
Ragebait 2026, coated quartz sand, 302 x 92 x 92 mm
Ragebait is a departure from the collaboration with Jenny Bornholdt. The work comes from a separate series exploring Oxford’s Word of the Year selections and the changing language of contemporary culture. For this piece I also began experimenting with a pixel-based form of lettering, a new direction in the way I translate words into sculpture. Originally made as a test, the physicality of the word proved too good to leave behind. It has consequently found its way into The Excitable Alphabet.
Photography by Joseph Kelly and Stephen A'Court