Lucy Lang

Lucy Kate Lang, Standing Stones
My final piece Standing Stones is
inspired by 18th century veiled marble
statues and ancient stone circles. The
individual statues are draped to mirror
the symbolist motif of veiled eyes
conveying a gateway to the soul, as it
is a metaphor for looking inward at
ones own thoughts, which was the first
example of abstraction in art; not just
showing what was in front of the eyes,
but conveying what was going on
behind them.
The five figures create a sacred circle enclosing the central object, focusing on it. The centre piece is a
hybrid alien-seed object that is a physical representation of a first-hand prophetic experience, as described
in the book of Revelation, and also as a recurring theme in Carl Jung’s book The Archetypes and the
Collective Unconscious.
My work is based on my own vision of a dystopian future, which is born of a conglomeration of current
issues such as climate change and species extinction, dystopian films such as Black Mirror and Cloud Atlas,
and video games, such as Fallout 4 and Horizon Zero Dawn.
In my version, the world and humanity is in a form of post apocalyptic utopia where the remaining humans
go back to their tribal roots of appreciating and respecting nature, much like the tenets of Shintoism in
Japan, which reveres nature and stipulates a balance between humans and the natural world. The work
“Standing Stones represents a gathering place for the tribes of this post-apocalyptic future world.
The artists that most inspire my vision currently are Dario Alva and Leopoldo D’Angelo whose works
feature futuristic dystopian worlds that have a very bold, alien/cyberpunk look which I think is visually
appealing. I enjoy experimenting with a range of mediums, as I like to keep learning new things, and find
new and better ways to create work and show my ideas. Currently I am focusing more on sculpture, as this
gives the viewer a first-hand experience of the piece. There is no screen or barrier such as a canvas
between the viewer and the work, and viewers can walk around it, and imagine themselves in the
dystopian world I’ve envisioned, or create their own meaning for the piece.
Further artists that have inspired my mediums and processes the most have been Rob Mulholland, with his
free-standing reflective silhouette figures installed in forests, as well as Livio Scarpella’s veiled busts of good
and evil souls for the statues. For the central alien/seed object I took inspiration from Yuki Nara’s beautiful
architectural ceramic work in thin radial slices that look like some kind of alien flowers, and Barbara
Hepworth’s organic-looking 3D works with hollowed centres that make them look like seed pods or shells,
as if they were grown and not made.
Due to my love of experimentation and also because of current issues with being able to actually visit sites
and gallery spaces, I have used a lot of 3D digital sculptures, as these can be seen online, without the need
to travel, but still give the viewer a sense of being in front of a real object and being able to see the object
from a variety of angles. For these I drew inspiration from Dario Alva’s digital 3D works and short films,
which really inspired me to create something that could be interacted with in an online setting

For more photos please head to my Instagram @Dark_Baphomet