Jonathan Baldock’s playful works convey pleasure to Yorkshire Sculpture Park

One of many extra putting works on present at Jonathan Baldock’s solo exhibition ‘Contact Wooden’ at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is a cheeky, vibrant character exposing their buttocks. It varieties a part of a collection of recent items in ceramic, textile and basketry that have been all created particularly for YSP by the British artist, whose work is saturated with humour and wit, in addition to an unsettling, macabre high quality that channels his longstanding curiosity in fantasy and folklore.

Jonathan Baldock comes up roses at YSP

Baldock was partly drawn by the medieval structure and carved picket figures of close by Wakefield Cathedral, however his creations are much less about spiritual iconography than they’re about what lies beneath. As among the 500-year-old carved figures have been hid below folding seats, often known as misericords, and thus hidden out of sight, those that made them had the liberty to carve what they preferred, and their material usually relates extra carefully to nature or legendary beasts. 

Impressed by the concept that their makers discovered pockets of pleasure in expressing themselves freely outdoors of the foundations, Baldock riffed on these characters, creating large-scale textile sculptures that embrace a sphinx-like creature and a inexperienced man. As somebody from a working-class background, he connects with the non-authoritarian voice of the craftsperson. As a queer particular person, he sees the misericords as objects which have survived the repressive beliefs of historical past – they’re subversive outsiders hiding in plain sight.

Baldock additionally weaves in components of his ancestry. Descended from generations of hop-gatherers and gardeners, his affinity with nature is deep-rooted, embodied by ceramic works that merge plant and human life, in addition to 4 massive textile panels, every representing a distinct season. From the pastel shades of spring to the rusty tones of autumn, they seize the pure rhythms of a 12 months, and every is embroidered with designs impressed by sacred geometry – the shapes and progress patterns discovered all through the pure world that join all dwelling issues.

‘It’s thrilling to see how Jonathan deftly weaves collectively influences from many various occasions and spheres, and interprets them via a recent, queer lens,’ says Sarah Coulson, senior curator at YSP. ‘The connection to the carvings in Wakefield Cathedral celebrates the historical past of sculpture and makers domestically, whereas his curiosity within the pure world and the rhythm of the seasons resonates with the panorama at YSP. Jonathan is a dynamic, considerate and playful artist whose installations convey pleasure in addition to problem.’

Says Baldock, ‘The present offers with severe topics, however with pleasure and humour. I imagine these might be highly effective instruments of empowerment, that are very crucial at this time once we really feel so numb to the very actual crises the world is going through. My purpose is to not create an area to flee in, however to create an area the place we are able to refocus and higher tackle our present realities.’