Carved From Memory

Audio work in which a stone-carver and the artist's grandmother are placed in dialogue to re-imagine a sculpture which once adorned the West Front of Exeter Cathedral. 2009

"Some time ago, I was taken to Exeter Cathedral to see a gargoyle that was carved by my great-grandfather. My mother had been taken to see it by her mother too. When I returned to show the carving to my own daughter I realized that the stone had weathered to such an extent that it was now impossible to tell what had been depicted. Through conversation with my family members, I began to build a picture in my mind of what the carving had looked like. Between my mother and grandmother, the carving had been imagined as a number of things. It was an amalgam of their recollections. Rather than a verifiable, accurate image, I realized that what was being described was as much imagined as it had been real. In dialogue, in it's description, its form also changed. Somewhere between us lay the image of the stone figure. Interestingly, this complex interplay of memory and imagination was at heart of my great-grandfather's practice as a stonemason, given artistic licence to carve anything he wished on this and other Cathedrals.

This new work sees my Grandmother, her sight faltering, entering into dialogue with a stonemason, to reconstruct the image of the gargoyle. An audio-recording of the this conversation and process of interpretation, imagining and reconstruction is is played-back in the gallery."

• Link to the Spacex Gallery website:

  • http://spacex.org.uk/exhibitions/simon-popecarved-from-memory16-may-11-july-2009/

• Video recording of Artist's Talk and Tour of Exeter Cathedral here:

  • http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=034C772EED84FBDA

  • BBC Devon article

    • http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2009/04/30/exeter_gargoyle_feature.shtml