The Making of Ashes
JAMES BALMFORTH
There is a profound truth and beauty in the human ability to realise its fragility in the context of the grand cycles of existence. Human enterprises have addressed this fragility either by seeking to conquer nature or through the poetic and spiritual acceptance of our humble co-existence with eternal natural cycles.
In James Balmforth’s sculpture we seem to encounter both at once. Each sculpture is the physical manifestation of a distilled idea conceived through the long contemplation of the operations of nature. These works speak to us of the ephemeral quality of a world in flux, and do so with the precision of a haiku.
Yet, beyond this poetic quality, James Balmforth’s sculpture is built on the basis of pure human ingenuity and the achievements of technology. Digital devices to control cycle speeds with precision, the residues of incineration: these components speak of the technological conquest of our world. In their mechanical operations, and the materials employed, James Balmforth's works are based upon human ingenuity and the achievements of technology.
