ORC WORK

2024
Mild steel and oiled chainmail with multiple rings of power

A call to action, billowing in the wind above the entrance to More Art Inc’s exhibition, or it would be if it wasn’t so damn heavy...

“Somewhere between my time spent with the More Art Inc cohort and musing about Edwin Butler-Bayliss paintings, I remembered ‘The Making of Mordor’, an exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery in 2014 which situated the Land of Shadow within the industrial Black Country landscape.

A decade on, I wonder what this region means for the artists born and bred in Mordor. Following the destruction of the one ring, and the end of the Sauron-centric industry, the orcs scattered across the map, presumably seeking purpose, work or gainful employment elsewhere… And yet, some of us still remain.

How can the institutions of the Black Country nurture creative practitioners, when the Great Eyes of this world assign menial tasks to locals while valuing the skill set of the Elven class? How can Mordor become hospitable to its artist residents?

What of the Orcs who cannot afford housing in Rivendell?”