Waiting For Felix
Waxed Pine
2003
height: 24.5cm / width: 6cm / depth: 7cm
Completely distracted by the impending birth of my son, I took some time off work and sat at home in state of nervous anticipation. Desperately needing to stop myself twitching, I picked up an offcut of pine and started whittling with a Stanley knife. I didn’t have any kind of plan, and, after making what seemed to me to be a series of completely random cuts, I ended up with the small piece you see here.
At the time, I had no idea what I had produced, but looking at it now, I see many elements that make sense of my state of mind at the time : the shapely leg, the little sperm, and the foetal form, all carved with a sensitivity and delicacy of touch I’d be proud to be able to reproduce.
Almost as soon as I had finished this little carving, my wife gave birth, making it, for me, a totem of great significance, and one I could never bear to be parted from.
Private Collection