Bill Woodrow is excited about having four decades' worth of his work shown together for the first time, but the experience has also wracked his nerves. 'I've not seen many of them for 30 years, they've been in boxes,' he tells us, referring to some of the works included in the
current Royal Academy Burlington Gardens retrospective that are from his own collection.
Woodrow came to prominence in the 1980s with his cut-out sculptures that reused the surface of white goods found on the streets near his home to make unexpected forms; a bicycle appears from the side of a twin tub or a tiger leaps from a car bonnet. Realising the social currency of these discarded items, Woodrow was also able to make comments about the political and cultural events of the time, such as the hijacking of aeroplanes and the IRA bombings in London. But a time came when the cut-outs had served their purpose, and the artist began to explore materials like bronze and glass, while life experiences, from beekeeping to visiting the Arctic, would influence his practice.
This long overdue survey of an artist who hasn't courted the art limelight in the same way as many of his contemporaries gives insight into Woodrow's witty and politically conscious mind. Here he picks four works from different series that track the changes and similarities within his 40-year practice.
