The human body is central to Anna Gillespie’s work. It is the lens through which she responds to her own personal history, her current circumstances and the world around her. Her sculptures attempt to capture inner reality as opposed to outer appearance, whilst still holding fast to a deeply felt awe of the real physicality of the human body in all the various forms of beauty it takes.
Anna’s work touches both personal and archetypal themes, a central fascination being the contradiction between strength and vulnerability that is part of what it is to be human. In the case of the works based on life casts, this is expressed through on the inherent contradictions within the life casting process itself, where the detailed accuracy of the casts contrasts with the ‘faults’ that are left or even enhanced to speak more clearly of human vulnerability.
Anna also works in bronze and has been fascinated by the casting process, and the endurance of bronze, for over two decades.
Anna Gillespie’s work has featured in various group and solo shows over the last 30 years. More recently Anna has completed a series of sculptural installations including in Cathedrals and public spaces, and she has collaborated in dance and ‘protest’ performances. Anna’s work is in the collections of The Prudential, Burghley House Sculpture Park, Chippenham Museum, The Somerset Museum, Museo Arte Contemporanea Sicilia, Bodrum Sculpture Park in Turkey, also in private collections in America, the Middle East and Europe.