Jamie North: Inflection

Informality and Pi Artworks are thrilled to announce Inflection, the first solo show in the UK of renowned Australian sculptor Jamie North. Indicative of his critically acclaimed sculptures combining blast furnace slag, concrete and blown glass, Inflection consists of an eroded column encircled by distorted elliptical terraria. These forms play host to living plant species native to the UK.

The title, Inflection refers to a tipping point or the crossing of an ecological threshold resulting in a shift toward a new systemic direction. The shifted column, Forward Projection (2019), teeters on an eroded axis, having slipped its vertical trajectory. The surrounding terraria sit in material contrast, their glassy surfaces indicating numerous past impacts. Together, they present as forms on the edge of a conflicted past and a perilous future.

Still, Inflection resists a nihilistic reading. North’s work assuredly underlines a delicate balance at this critical ecological juncture. The assemblages of Hart’s-tongue fern (Asplenium Scolopendrium) and other indigenous UK plant species are reframed as a form of hope for complex life, however tenuous. Implicit is the presentation of opportunity through positive action. Where there is opportunity, there is at least some promise.