Much of my practice has long revolved around dance and the freedom of the human spirit, with each sculpture forming a kind of duet between myself and the dancers I collaborate with. Every work explores a distinct emotional state, captured not through anatomy alone but through movement, silhouette, and light.
Elan was born from a year of profound momentum: creative, emotional, and professional and I wanted to honour that surge of energy and possibility. In many ways, this is a self-portrait, not in likeness, but in spirit. The title captures the essence I was reaching for: vitality, drive, and an irrepressible forward motion.
Technically, Elan is also a significant departure. I set out to create a sculpture whose physical form feels almost alien to the shadows it casts, pushing the tension between object and illusion further than I ever have. Working on such fine boundaries meant that the slightest adjustment to a fragment could unravel hours of progress. Balancing the three elements, form, fabric, and light, became a delicate choreography in itself.
The resulting shadows reveal two dancers leaping in exhilaration, embodiments of movement and joy, while the sculpture at their core remains raw, abstract, and fiercely intentional. Between them exists the true heartbeat of Elan: the feeling of stepping into a new chapter with both courage and lift.
