Born in Surrey in 1945, British sculptor David Nash works with the natural world to express his vision. His creations look at the relationship between humanity and nature. As well as producing giant sculptures made from fallen trees, Nash also works in charcoal on paper. He was interested in nature from a young age, helping his father to replant a forest on land he owned. While working for the Commercial Forestry Group he discovered his dislike of planting in straight lines. Working with natural structures sometimes means being incredibly patient in creating his pieces. His most famous work, ‘Ash Dome’, has been in progress since 1978. Nash is attempting to create a dome of ash trees, encouraging them to bend together and meet at the top. This is one example of the Land Art he has created, pieces that exist in the natural environment and change over time. Another is ‘Wooden Boulder’ a large wooden sphere in the north Welsh landscape that is constantly shifting location. His trademarks include using the whole of a fallen tree to create his sculpture and using heavy duty power tools like chainsaws and blowtorches to blacken and carve the wood. From this he somehow creates the refined marks and lines that are found on his finished work. Nash now lives in Blaenau Ffestiniog in north Wales, an area he visited often as a child on holiday.
