Bill Woodrow in conversation with William Feaver

About

Bill Woodrow’s work is characterised by his use of domestic and urban objects to make sculptures in which the original identity of his materials is still evident. Since the late 1980s he has expanded his range of materials to include welded steel and cast bronze. One of three artists selected to make a sculpture for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, in 2000, Woodrow chose to explore a recurring theme in his work – the destruction of the planet and the insistent strength of nature over man – in the piece entitled Regardless of History.

Woodrow studied at Winchester School of Arts from 1967 to 1968 and at St. Martin’s School of Art, London from 1968 to 1971 before spending one year at Chelsea School of Art. His first solo exhibition was at the Whitechapel Gallery, London in 1972. In the early 1980s he represented Britain at Biennales in Sydney (1982), Paris (1982, 1985) and Sâo Paulo (1983). In 1986 he was a finalist in the Turner Prize at the Tate Gallery, London.