Marina Graham: Sculpture and Imagery

Welcome to my website!

My work is organised into eight categories on this website. Portraits , Figures, Stroboscopic Photos, Paintings, Egyptian
Reliefs, Drawings and Restoration.

The table of links at the bottom of the page lets you choose a section and go through all the pages in it in sequence. Click
on one of the headings in the box and then on 'next page'. If you think you are lost you can always come back to this page
(BACK TO BEGINNING) and start again.

Some of the portraits shown here were commissioned. Others are of friends who have been willing to sit for me over the
years. Since I have often taken photos of portraits while I was still working on the clay I have included some of those here
as I think it makes an interesting comparison with the various materials which can be used for the finished cast. For
quality you can’t beat bronze or something carved in a hard stone, but I have a number of casts made of resin with marble
dust which have withstood many years outside in the garden.

I have an interest in ancient civilisations. The Egyptian reliefs seen on this site are my copies, which I sell. The originals
are in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. Figurative sculpture was very unfashionable when I was a student. Coloured
figurative sculptures would have been entirely frowned upon. This always seemed mistaken to me. I have always found the
art of the ancient civilisations entirely fascinating. For me the art of the modern world has never eclipsed the ancient
world,the classical world, the Middle ages or the Renaissance. While the need has often been felt to break free from a
tradition which has become too restrictive, it is also true that a compulsive 'breaking free' can itself become a stifling
tradition. I like to think that perhaps the 20th century has finally brought us to a point where great artistic diversity can
really co-exist. I think many more artists now have this tolerance.

In a truly free world there would be no need to attack any tradition which did not force conformity to itself, just the
opportunity to experience each as it is. Of course the world is never free, but as long as humanity exists there will always
be aspirations as well as restrictions.

Some aspects of the modern world are really fun. The stroboscopic images shown here are from black and white negatives
taken when I was a student. They were fun at the time but I never would have imagined what would be possible years later
with digital software!

Now that I have finally created this website I will probably change it around from time to time. So please - Enjoy!

Marina
Jan 2007