About artist and sculptor Howard Bowcott

My artwork is about touch.

As a sculptor I touch a material and help it to come alive to human interaction. In our contemporary world, where we are often quite literally out of touch with our surroundings, there is all the more need for artists to create artworks that are the catalyst for reconnection with our environment. Delight in the world around us is to be nurtured and cherished.

I am based in Eryri/Snowdonia but work on arts and regeneration projects throughout the UK. Over the last thirty-five years I have gained extensive experience in the field of public art and community engagement, as both designer and hands-on sculptor. My artwork links sculpture with the regeneration of our public realm, landscape and urban design, and bespoke street furniture.

Whether I am working on a large or more moderate scale, my approach is always to bring a human and inviting quality to my artwork, through careful attention to detail. The input of the site user and local community is always stressed, as is an acknowledgement of place and relevant distinct cultural heritage.

Though perhaps best known for my sculptures in stacked slate, I work in a range of materials that includes stone, handmade brick, native oak and bespoke concrete. As a sculptor I am fascinated by the shaping of a material and the act of creating a form that is new to the world, but at the same time deeply familiar.

I frequently create my sculpture through the careful building up of layers. Split the fine layers of a stone and you open the earth’s pages, the first to read that history. Stack the layers and you build new stories, new shapes and new interpretations.

This adds to the richness of place-making: my artwork articulates human interaction with space and place, through touch, shape, and craftsmanship. This in turn deepens our connection with our environment and with each other. Often my inspiration comes from the underlying stories of place, and from the natural forms and processes evident in the specifics of a given landscape. It also comes from the joy of bringing an idea into physical reality, creating something new and meaningful for the benefit of a place and a community for many years to come.