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Newfoundland

Drawing
2004 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Sarah Woodfine (born 1968) won the Jerwood Drawing Prize in 2004. She originally trained as a sculptor, as is evident in her work, which is often presented in 3-D. Her drawings - in particular her cut-out landscapes in Perspex boxes and snow domes - depict imaginary worlds which evoke fairytales and theatrical illusions. Presenting these drawings as three-dimensional self-contained worlds, she creates spaces which are spatially plausible yet ambiguous and contradictory. They have the precision and clarity of a perfectly observed reality, but also of an obsessive fantasy.

This interest in landscape, architecture and optical illusion is a central theme in Woodfine's recent work. This exquisitely-drawn scene is immediately reminiscent of the card models of castles and forts that used to be popular children's toys. Newfoundland takes the potential of these models one step further, and the cut-outs are assembled as elements of a miniaturised stage-set, exploiting the allusiveness which comes from using a part to suggest the whole, with each element standing for something larger.

Her drawings have obvious affinities with illustration, especially children's book illustration, with theatre and with cut-out toys, but also with architectural drawing and architectural models.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleNewfoundland (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pencil on paper in perspex box
Brief description
'Newfoundland' by Sarah Woodfine, pencil on paper in perspex box, United Kingdom, 2004
Physical description
Drawing made up of several cut-out shapes showing a teepee, part of a canoe and landscape elements arranged within a perspex box
Dimensions
  • Height: 24cm
  • Width: 33cm
  • Depth: 24cm
Subjects depicted
Summary
Sarah Woodfine (born 1968) won the Jerwood Drawing Prize in 2004. She originally trained as a sculptor, as is evident in her work, which is often presented in 3-D. Her drawings - in particular her cut-out landscapes in Perspex boxes and snow domes - depict imaginary worlds which evoke fairytales and theatrical illusions. Presenting these drawings as three-dimensional self-contained worlds, she creates spaces which are spatially plausible yet ambiguous and contradictory. They have the precision and clarity of a perfectly observed reality, but also of an obsessive fantasy.

This interest in landscape, architecture and optical illusion is a central theme in Woodfine's recent work. This exquisitely-drawn scene is immediately reminiscent of the card models of castles and forts that used to be popular children's toys. Newfoundland takes the potential of these models one step further, and the cut-outs are assembled as elements of a miniaturised stage-set, exploiting the allusiveness which comes from using a part to suggest the whole, with each element standing for something larger.

Her drawings have obvious affinities with illustration, especially children's book illustration, with theatre and with cut-out toys, but also with architectural drawing and architectural models.
Collection
Accession number
E.322-2006

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Record createdOctober 17, 2006
Record URL
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