Contemporary Sculpture - Vice Garden
George Fell’s own work often depicts living subjects, be they humans, animals or plants. With human subjects the focus is often on character created through stylised depiction and certain features slightly exaggerated. This is an attempt to reflect the sensation of observing a subject as opposed to its actual appearance. He has made many “imagined portraits” of everyday people, often with reflective or distracted expressions. These are informed by his observations from living in central Manchester. His animal sculptures convey strong movement and intricate textures, he has always been fascinated by the natural patterns created by nature and uses repetitive welding techniques to create these vivid visual displays. He has recently created a series of vases with symmetrical patterns on the surface inspired by Islamic art and the square forms and bricks of urban architecture.
His installation “Vice Garden” is a display featuring many of his contemporary sculptures. The items in the garden represent vices, weaknesses and obsessions experienced by people in modern life. It was created to be exhibited at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2023.
Vice Garden
The display is installed on a custom built multi-storey plinth. The large plant sculptures on either side of the plinth depict coca plants, the species from which cocaine is derived.
Pangolin 2020 (mild steel)
This sculpture depicts a pangolin, which are the most trafficked animals in the world. It was created during the coronavirus pandemic as a response to the concept that the pandemic originated from these animals in Chinese “wet markets”
Cotton Mill Vase (mild steel)
This steel vase was inspired by Manchester’s industrial architecture. This can be seen in the rows of windows in the lower section and the chimney-like form of the vase’s neck.
Octopus (mild steel)
This steel depiction of an octopus won the People’s Choice Award at the Manchester Open Exhibition 2020.
Photography by Richard Tymon
New Islington Vase (mild steel)
This vase was inspired by the architecture of modern urban developments.
Commuters (mild steel)
This artwork consists of eight individual sculptures. They are all imagined portraits huddled together but not interacting, this image was inspired by the crowds of commuters George would see disembarking from the train at Manchester Picadilly station.
Photograph on left by Richard Tymon
Reels-Persian Cat (mild steel)
This sculpture of a Persian cat was created as a symbol for our modern day addiction to short videos on social media. People spend much of their lives watching clips of visually appealing animals like this. This depiction looks back at the viewer with disdain despite it’s cuteness.
The Making of Reels-Persian Cat
Capture (mild steel)
Steel depiction of a woman gazing into the camera on her phone. Explores themes of self-image and the ubiquity of social media.
Pensive (mild steel)
Z Lighthouse (mild steel)
This steel vessel is decorated with four differing symmetrical designs across its surface. Every motif in the decoration is a version of the letter Z. It has tea light stands on the upper ledge, meaning that candles can be lit in there, creating a lighthouse effect.
The Gatekeeper (mild steel)
This sculpture was inspired by images of Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates and transitions. Janus is always shown with two heads. In this artwork he is depicted as a gatekeeper in a contemporary context, perhaps a security guard or a front of house at a restaurant which is suggested by the headset and microphone.
Great Crested Grebe (mild steel)
This sculpture depicts a Great Crested Grebe, George often sees these birds on the lake at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. They have a famously graceful courtship display.
Liberty Caps (mild steel)
These small artworks are depictions of Liberty Caps, which are psychoactive mushrooms that grow wild on British moorland.
Hops and Barley (mild steel)
These sculptures depict hops and barley. These are primary ingredients in beer, ale and whiskey, drinks that are synonymous with British culture.
Garlic Chilli (mild steel)
These small sculptures depict garlic and chilli, primary ingredients in most of the world’s best loved food. They are arranged in a traditional “coat of arms” formation.
Lotus Flowers (mild steel)
These small sculptures depict lotus flowers. They are frequently used as symbols in contemporary “wellness” culture. These pieces also act as stands for candles.