Thursday March 4th

Meet the three new Sean Henry sculptures arriving in Woking to complete the family of sculptures already located throughout the town centre, the train station and our central shopping mall…

Revealed by Sean during a tour of his studio in conjunction with The Lightbox Art Gallery in Woking, the three new Woking residents include ‘Walking Woman’, all clad in black and who will confidently stride down Commercial Way, while ‘Standing Figure (Man)’ and ‘Standing Figure (Woman)’, top, will stare at each other in a prominent position in the new Victoria Square development.

Born in Woking, Sean Henry’s large-scale sculptures are located across the UK and around the world in public spaces, squares, coastlines and moorland. These anonymous figures are created from clay and bronze, often assuming thoughtful, contemplative poses. To add further intrigue, Sean plays with proportions to disrupt our comprehension: often making them smaller or larger to create a physical and psychological contrast.

Of ‘Walking Woman’, Sean says:

“There’s an air of positivity about her. She has this inner confidence; I hope that comes through.”

And of the ‘Standing Figure (Man)’ and ‘Standing Figure (Woman)’, each seven feet tall, Sean hopes they will become a meeting place, bringing a lot of people into Woking.

Sean was born in Woking, grew up in Pirbright and now lives in Hampshire. He started making clay figures at age 14, selling some from a stall in Guilford High Street. After receiving a D in Art at A level, Sean went to Farnham School of Art to do a foundation degree and completed a BA in ceramics at Bristol Polytechnic.

Sean wants his sculptures to relate to the lived experience and he puts colour and light at the core of his work. Painted sculptures in public spaces outdoors have to resist all weathers and present their own challenges. Sean overcomes this with marine paint applied thinly to retain the sculptures clay-like qualities. Sean also dresses his figures in neutral clothing, keeping accessories or embellishments to a minimum so the focus remains on ‘the core of someone’s being’.

We’re also looking forward to another of Sean’s pieces returning to Woking: ‘Catafalque’ first appeared in Jubilee Square in 2017. Sean has stated publicly how much he is looking forward to Woking’s Victoria Square Development being completed and notes that Woking has the biggest Sean Henry collection in the world.