Exploring shapes and shadows

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Over the last few weeks I have been building a body of work for a new exhibition. The sculptures are influenced by the shapes and forms found in architecture, playgrounds and the built environment.  

I have begun collecting moments where these structures interact with spaces through the shadows they cast. I’m interested in the way the shapes stretch, distort and expand across the surfaces they touch. 

A shadow of the corner of bridge railings cast on mottled tarmac floor
Angular Railing Shadow, Naomi Harwin. 2023. Courtesy of Artist
The shadow of bridge railings against the tarmac ground
Railing Shadows, Naomi Harwin. 2023. Courtesy of Artist

I have also been capturing the shadows of my sculptures. Exploring the way the shapes transition and shift. I would like use this process to generate wall paintings that will sit within the exhibition. I also plan to experiment with the lighting set up for this exhibition to enhance shadows  within the work as sculptures will be positioned and suspended within the space. 

A shadow of a hand holding a 3 side crate like structure against a white wall
Sculpture Shadow, Naomi Harwin. 2023. Courtesy of Artist

Naomi Harwin

Working predominately in sculpture and installation, Naomi Harwin’s work centres around sensory experience and perceptual encounters. Most recently she has been exploring how bodily perception can cultivate resilience in the face of disorientation. With societal and environmental uncertainty, feelings of instability can arise and we seek out connection. Harwin explores how we connect with; our bodies, each other and our environment through the senses available to us. Creating interactive and mixed media artworks that reference sensory and inclusive design, contact improvisation, architectural scenography and play, she aims to create moments of connectivity and shared experience. Naomi Harwin graduated from Norwich University of the Arts in 2014 and more recently participated in East Bristol Contemporary’s Night School VII in 2021. She was a Studio Artist at Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridge from 2015 to 2021 and is now a Studio Member at Paradise Works in Manchester. Previous commissions, exhibitions and features include: Hospital Rooms at Northside House, Norwich (2021), Encounter, Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge (2020), To be an object is to possess a boundary, 1961 Projects, In Personam, Singapore (2019), Like-minded, Minimal Zine issue 01 (2019), Non-working hours, 1961 Projects , Singapore(2018), We:You,Me, Firstsite, Colchester (2017), AD HOC + TRADE Swap Editions, Art Licks, SET and Castor Projects, London (2017), in between things, Nunns Yard, Norwich (2016) and ‘O’, Airspace Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent (2015).

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