“Recently I set myself an exploratory challenge in the studio to make a series of sculptures using only circles and ellipses as a starting point. I began by tig-welding multiples of these two shapes in similar proportions with 3.2mm mild steel wire. I’d then construct a wireframe using one or the other of these elementary forms without having a pre-existing image in mind and continue working it until I arrived at something . . . and then onto the next one. Through the process of making, I reflected on the geometry of the shapes, and how they align with the real-world phenomenon of circular or elliptical motion in nature. The intention of the task was to rely on my hands like a water diviner with a dowsing rod. I would never know what the outcome would be, and the process was charged with uncertainty. As it is the thinking hand that acts, the strategy suggests a different type of intelligence that draws, only in part, on memory and inclinations of previous styles.” – John Meade September, 2023 John Meade would like to thank Benjamin Storch, Nadine Christensen, Jethro Harcourt, Stephen Insall, Salazar Quas, and Sutton Gallery for their ongoing support in the development of this exhibition. Images courtesy the artist and Sutton Gallery.