This series returns to an earlier idea about the expansion of body-space that was first explored in 

 (all 1991/93): moulds that were expanded by consistent amounts until they became simpler fruiting bodyforms. The process of adding skins to the work was first used in 

1977-79), where through the careful pigmentation of each subsequent layer of plaster, I attempted to find a point of tension between representation and generalisation. 

After its skin has been re-covered several times, any object becomes spherical or egg-shaped. The subsequent addition or removal of skins from objects began with the removal of the annual growth layer of trees in works like 

 (1979) and was coupled with the repeated layering of lead skins to existing man-made objects, as in 

 (1978-79), where three ‘toxic’ objects - a machete, a bottle of wine and a loaded 45-calibre hand-gun - were successively covered in lead until they became fruit-like.

 are massive cast iron forms (3.5 tonnes) that apply the laws of what used to be called ‘the Hubble constant’ (the rate of expansion of the universe) to body-space, and treat the body as a collection of cells. Every cell is expanded so that it is eaten and eats into adjacent cells while the whole accumulation of cells progresses towards a final state of a single cube. I am trying to find expressive poses that bring about a tension between their origin as a body and their becoming an abstract solid. For me, these new works are both architectonic and emotional. They follow a rigorous logic, yet nevertheless retain a strong human charge.

Cast Expansion Works

, 2012, cast iron, 213 × 64 × 54 cm. Installation view, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, USA. Photograph by Jason Wyche, New York.

Clasp V

, 2012, cast iron, 86.5 × 74.3 × 183.5 cm. Photograph by Ben Westoby, London.

Pull

, 2012, cast iron, 187 × 69.6 × 68.5 cm. Photograph by Stephen White, London.

Push X

, 2012, cast iron, 188 × 69.6 × 68.5 cm. Installation view, White Cube Bermondsey, London, UK. Photograph by Ben Westoby, London.

Loss III

, 2012, cast iron, 202 × 61 × 67.6 cm. Installation view, White Cube Bermondsey, London, UK. Photograph by Ben Westoby, London.

Shrive XVI

, 2012, cast iron, 68.3 × 213.2 × 55.4 cm. Installation view, White Cube Bermondsey, London, UK. Photograph by Ben Westoby, London.

Cast Expansion Works

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