JONATHAN BALDOCK: TOUCH WOOD

Touch Wood, an exhibition by British artist Jonathan Baldock opens at Yorkshire Sculpture Park  this September. Founded in 1977 Yorkshire Sculpture Park, is the largest sculpture park of its kind in Europe, set on the 500-acre grounds of the 18th-century Bretton Hall Estate.  

Displayed in The Western Gallery, Baldock will present a new series, of large-scale textile  sculptures, transporting the viewer through an immersive material landscape. A fictitious world  where medieval sculpture, sacred geometry and the earthly seasons meet.  


Image: Jonathan Baldock at CAC Residency 2018. Photo by Damian-Griffiths.  Image above: Jonathan Baldock, Warm Inside, Accelerator Stockholm 2021. Photo by Christian Saltas.

Renowned for his sensorial style, Baldock’s work depicts humorous folklore tales, with a fun and  exuberant charm. But look more closely and hidden narratives in queer and working people’s  histories are exposed.  

Touch Wood will include sculpted mythical characters such as a phoenix and a green man. Brought to life by an evocative soundscape produced by musician Luke Barton. Featuring samples of Gregorian chants, recordings of plants and birdsong.  

Whilst playful in his approach, Baldock has a deep appreciation and respect for hand-made  craftsmanship. Traditional textile skills have been intimately shared through generations, passed  through the hands of prevalent female figures in his life.  

Ahead of the show, we caught up with Jonathan to discover more about his draw to working with cloth. 


Image: Jonathan Baldock, I'm Still Learning, exhibition, La Casa Encendida, Madrid 2021. Photo by Bego Solis.

Where does your relationship with textile practices trace back to?  
I have been working with textiles my whole life. My nan taught me how to sew, knit and crochet  when I was a small child and later my Mum continued these lessons. I absolutely loved it. I started  using it within my art practice quite naturally as I was on a fine art painting course but wanted to  make sculptures – physical objects. I was a bit intimidated by the sculpture department, so I fell on  what I knew and started to make sculptures with textiles. This was when I was 20 and I’ve never  looked back.  

I always think of my work in textile as a love letter to my nan and my mum – people who have been  and continue to be incredibly important to me. 

For your upcoming exhibit at YSP, your textile sculptures are informed by sacred geometry, what has inspired this?  
For this show, I have been looking at ancient stone carvings, stained glass and tiles to influence  the works. Pattern and geometry obviously lend themselves very well for use in textiles. Drawing  inspiration from carved wooden figures from the quire of Wakefield Cathedral and the origins in the  fifteenth-century misericords. Misericords are the carved shelves concealed underneath folding  seats that offered an inconspicuous place to lean and rest while standing to recite prayers of the  medieval church. As they were hidden out of sight, the craftspeople who carved them were given  secretive freedom in their creation.  


Image: Jonathan Baldock You I are Earth 2023. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery. Photo © Mark-Blower. 

What textile processes have you used to create the sculptures? 
I have used mostly Hessians and felt sewn together with appliqué. I have a deep connection to this  process as it was historically used as a cheap fast alternative to making tapestries. These wall  hangings would be made of scraps of fabric to recycle and “make do” and it is very connected to the history of working people’s art. Even though it was much more common historically there are  very few examples of it that survive as it has not been valued to the same extent as tapestries. 

Is there a relationship between your textile materials and the natural space they will be  exhibited? 
Yes – I work with natural fibres, woollen felt and natural hessian, composed of natural fibres of the  jute plant. This material selection feels very apt given the surrounding landscape of the gallery, grass and sheep. 

What do you feel textiles, as a medium, allows you to express? 
One of the central themes of my work is the human body and the human experience. What  material speaks about this better? There is not much of the day when our skin is not in contact with  textiles, whether that be the clothes we wear, the carpet underfoot or our bedding etc. We are  almost inseparable from it and can understand the feeling of different textiles without having it to  hand – it is our second skin.  


Image: Jonathan Baldock, Untitled, 2019. Copyright Jonathan Baldock. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London. Photo by Mark Blower.

I get such pleasure out of making it. I think if there is love and joy in what you do then it comes so  easily. 

Text by Katerina Knight

Touch Wood will be on show from 23 September - 7 July 2024 at the Western Gallery at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.  

Find out more about  Yorkshire Sculpture Park:
ysp.org.uk

Find out more about Jonathan Baldock:
jonathan-baldock.com
@jonathan_baldock