Nicolas Deshayes

Nicolas Deshayes has created a site-specific permanent artwork for the Sunken Garden, taking the form of a functional gate for the garden’s grotto. Using the technique of sand-casting – where a pattern is buried in sand which is then filled with molten metal and excavated in its new fossilized form – the artist has developed a sculptural relief that borrows from traditional ornamental iron work, but that also of speaks of organic plant and marine life that are so intrinsic to this unique setting. Describing the relief as a line drawing, Deshayes has used a can of common construction foam to create the undulating outline of the gate, in a play between the opulent nature of Georgian and Victorian vernacular and DIY construction techniques. The swollen quality of the foam was also used for its organic quality; like a DNA sequence gone awry, its motif recalls rope patterns, algae, flora and internal organs.