Phlex is an ongoing series of stoneware ceramic sculptures. These intertwining, curvaceous structures have been developed to present a particular kind of visual interplay which unconsciously prompts the viewer to continually move around the pieces. This instinctive changing of visual perspective – following the curves as one parabola resolves into another – works to imbue the objects with a sense of motion and energy that belies their rigid materiality, and enhances their perceptual aesthetic. As viewers engage with these works, they are unwittingly revealing the overlooked role that embodiment plays in enabling perception and the neurologically ‘constructive’ nature of vision itself.
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 22 x 12 x 12cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 22 x 12 x 12cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 22 x 12 x 12cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 16 x 15cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 16 x 15cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 16 x 15cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 16 x 15cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 16 x 15cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 16 x 15cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 12 x 12cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 12 x 12cm
Partially glazed stoneware ceramic, 33 x 12 x 12cm
Robin’s ‘Parallax’ series of abstract painted panels reside in that category of artworks that really need to be seen ‘in the flesh’ to be fully appreciated. The paintings’ subtle three-dimensional structures – only apparent when encountered first-hand – are designed to cause a ‘parallax’ effect, whereby the spatial relationship between painted lines appears to alter as the visual brain struggles to place them on a two-dimensional plane, while other lines simply appear and disappear before one’s eyes. In this way viewers are able to witness their own perceptual processes in action.
The titles of the paintings, which are hidden within each work, are taken from excerpts from classic literature that play with ideas of change or illusion such as Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis or Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Mixed media on plywood panel, 94 x 94cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Material/Immaterial: Joint exhibition in St Ives with sculptor Daniel Miles
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 104 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 104 x 54cm (each panel) [artist’s collection]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 34 x 79cm (each panel) [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 34cm (each panel) [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 94 x 94cm [artist’s collection]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 104 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 104 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 34 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 79 x 79cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [sold]
Mixed media on plywood panel, 64 x 64cm [artist’s collection]
Robin’s scuptural work includes the series ‘Permanent Possibilities of Sensation’ (PPoS) – the title derived from British philosopher John Stuart Mill’s (1806 – 1873) notion concerning the nature of ‘external objects’ – and comprises a body of work to emerge following completion of his PhD in 2014.
Robin’s doctoral study uncovered significant correlations between modern phenomenological theories of visual consciousness and neuroscientific descriptions of aesthetic experience. These artworks were developed to purposefully draw on this significant area of perceptual theory by utilizing the changing array of light, triggered when moving around the sculptures, to transform one’s perception of their structure. Thereby uniquely manifesting specific aspects of these theories in real-time.
Stainless steel, American walnut, black calf-skin suede, 250 x 200 x 150mm [sold]
Stainless steel, American walnut, black calf-skin suede, 250 x 200 x 150mm [sold]
Stainless steel, English Maple, black nylon flock, 200 x 200 x 200mm [artist’s collection]
Stainless steel, English Maple, black nylon flock, 200 x 200 x 200mm [artist’s collection]
Stainless steel, American Walnut, black nylon flock, 200 x 200 x 200mm [artist’s collection]
Stainless steel, American walnut, black calf-skin suede, 250 x 200 x 150mm [3/5 sold]
Stainless steel, American walnut, black calf-skin suede, 250 x 200 x 150mm [3/5 sold]
Stainless steel, American walnut, black calf-skin suede, 250 x 200 x 150mm [4/5 sold]
Stainless steel, American walnut, black calf-skin suede, 250 x 200 x 150mm [4/5 sold]
Stainless steel, American walnut, black calf-skin suede, 250 x 200 x 150mm [4/5 sold]
Stainless steel, American walnut, black calf-skin suede, 250 x 200 x 150mm [4/5 sold]
Preparitory sketch for a sculpture, ink on paper
Preparitory sketch for a sculpture, ink on paper
Preparitory sketch for a sculpture, ink on paper
Alongside his specific painting, sculpture and ceramic series, Robin’s creative output has also included individual one-off sculptures, photography and various ‘surrealist’ objects. As with all of Robin’s work these disparate constructions have been inspired by his academic study in to the complex processes of human psychology and our perceptual senses.
English Oak, stainless steel, rubber and plastic, 340 x 340 x 366mm
English Oak, stainless steel, black nylon flock, 340 x 340 x 340mm
Card, paper and cotton, 95 x 85 x 30mm
Mirrored glass, rubber and plastic, 160 x 160 x 20mm
Stainless steel, red acrylic, 130 x 70 x 30mm
500 lacquered wooden blocks, 100 x 150cm
Lightjet print, 48 x 40cm
Lightjet print on aluminium, 100 x 100cm
Lightjet print, 48 x 40cm
Lightjet print, 48 x 40cm
Lightjet print, 48 x 40cm
Lightjet print, 48 x 40cm
Cornish granite on oak plinth, 40 x 60 x 15cm
Stainless steel on oak plinth, 50 x 45 x 30cm
As part of his art practice and academic study, Robin has produced two small publications.
Private View: The Nature of Visual Process is a record of his art/science collaboration with cognitive neuroscientist Dr Tim Hodgson. Utilizing eye-tracking technology in conjunction with some of Robin’s artworks, this project set out to use some of the actual physiological processes via which the eye provides the brain with information about the outside world to illustrate the unique and idiosyncratic nature of each individual’s visual perception. In essence, each time someone contemplates a work of art, the work is recreated internally. This project set out, in part at least, to make ‘visible’ this hitherto unshared neurological event.
As well as the publication, the project resulted in six newly created artworks that were exhibited at various venues alongside a series of flicker books and digital animations illustrating the process of their creation. The project also resulted in a published academic paper.
The Relative & The Absolute was produced as part of Robin’s MA in Contemporary Visual Arts (2005), and comprises a fictional allegory, various perceptual illusions, and the scientific case for the ‘relativity’ of one’s perceptual experience and wider ‘everyday’ reality.
For copies of both publications please email the artist via the contacts page.
4-colour, 68 pages, 150 x 150mm
Additional outputs: Digital animations and flicker books
Eye-tracking technology: Set-up and readouts
3-colour, 200 pages, 130 x 130mm
As part of his doctoral study into Neuroaesthetics (Art & Visual Perception) Robin presented and published a number of academic papers. These can be downloaded free of charge by visiting: academia.edu
