Home > Shop > laurence-poole-canterbury

Laurence Poole

Laurence was born in South London in 1963. He now lives in Hastings on the south coast of England, with a studio in nearby St Leonards-on-Sea. He is an alumnus of Croydon College of Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design, the University of Brighton and The California Sculpture Academy. 

Laurence assembles multiples of found objects (objets trouvés) to create sculptures that represent an archival celebration of vintage commercial and industrial design: model cars symbolise tokens of playtimes; a camera is a trove of captured moments; a golf club acts as a proxy for countless victorious jaunts to the nineteenth hole. The era of these objects and our idiosyncratic reaction to them often induces a palpable sense of nostalgia.

Assemblage sculptures often have a lengthy gestation period, involving periods of research and epic sourcing quests, followed by the assemblage construction itself. Laurence’s unique visual sensibility pursues a mesmeric aesthetic that often demands highly technical and innovative solutions to achieve the desired arrangement, a process he refers to as Trucism (from the French truc, ‘thingy’), or ‘the essential thingy'. The scale and complexity of these works mean that Laurence’s annual output numbers only ten-to-twelve works a year, supported by limited edition lithographs and screen prints. 

Upon his return from the California Sculpture Academy, Laurence built a foundry in his studio in St Leonards-on-Sea, allowing him to pursue his interest in the complex process of moulding, casting and finishing. He has since realised bronze sculptures utilising both the cire perdue (lost-wax) and sand casting methods.

As well as assemblage and bronze, Laurence’s diverse, multi-media oeuvre encompasses drawing, painting and ceramics. He also has a keen interest in lighting and furniture design, and occasionally subsidises his studio practice with 'random projects'.