b. 1958, United Kingdom
Sought-after artist LR Vandy brings together both found and made objects in her sculptures in order to create new meaning. In her practice, she continually explores these new materials and unpacks our knotted histories of trade and power. Vandy made her sell-out debut with October Gallery at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London in 2018, followed by her highly anticipated first solo show, Hidden, at the Gallery in June 2019, and her solo show Twist in April 2024.
In her Hull series, Vandy transforms model boat hulls into ‘masks’, animating them with various materials, including fishing floats, porcupine quills and acupuncture needles. The hulls allude to the transportation of migrants as commodities. As masks they present a transformation of identity, drawing upon the tradition of talismans, charms and amulets. Her work Railway also closely examines transport systems and their hidden human costs. Vandy threads old model railway tracks across burnt wood of different depths, contained by brass borders.
Her sculpture series These Women, consists of twenty-one individual, dynamic sculptures, each one a different variation of bold geometric elements. A large Jesmonite sculpture from the series Superhero Cog-Woman, acting as a tribute to women throughout time, was selected to be shown at Frieze Sculpture 2019, The Regents Park, London, UK. As a continuation of this theme, Dynamo Woman, a spiralling metal sculpture, which alludes to the ancient Greek queen Dynamis (‘Powerful one”) is a symbolic feminine vessel of industry, energy, movement and agility. In 2023 for the third iteration of the International Slavery Museum’s MLK Pop Up series, Vandy was commissioned by National Museums Liverpool to created Dancing in Time: The Ties That Bind Us, a 5-meter-high sculpture on the Canning Dock in Liverpool. Inspired by her studio relocation next to the Ropery at Chatham Historic Dock Yard, Vandy has explored the properties of rope, as well as its symbolic and historical importance. Rope was used in ancient architectural construction, essential to the maritime industry, to the building of Empire, Colonialism and Slavery.
By manipulating, sewing and binding this seemingly simple material Vandy relates yet subverts these historical associations of rope. The end form speaks to the origins of dance in hunting rituals, carnival masquerades and spirit dancers of the African diaspora. 2024 showcased LR Vandy’s second solo exhibition at October Gallery, Twist, which featured her new visceral rope sculptures, photographic prints and new additions to her signature Hull series, which explores the colonial significance of indigo.
Notably the artist has exhibited at Get Up, Stand Up Now at Somerset House and Frieze Sculpture in 2019. Over the last five years, Vandy has exhibited frequently at 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair, inLondon and New York. Vandy is represented in many private collections and the renowned public collection of the British Museum and National Museums Liverpool.
October Gallery
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