About

Shirley Sharp (b. Essex 1957) is a sculptor and painter in South Gloucestershire, working from her studio in CLaSH artspace which she co-founded in 2015. She graduated with BA(Hons) Illustration in 2004 and MA Fine art in 2018.
I use character as a way to create distance from the work while searching for the character that exists within us. The relationship between our inner experience and our outward self can create a tension that is both absurdly comical and deeply vulnerable. I am interested in how elements of the absurd appear within everyday life and ordinary moments, and this plays an important role in how I approach the work. 
By placing sculptures in groups or pairs, they appear to share a conversation while still keeping their individuality. This reflects my interest in the idea of entanglement in quantum mechanics, where two or more particles become connected even when they are far apart. My current work is becoming more abstract. While it  still feels figurative and suggests a sense of life or presence, it  relies less on the recognisable human form which allows me to explore more deeply the internal world of who we are.”