Artist : Alastair & Fleur Mackie
Title : Complex System 27 & 28
Medium : cuttlebone (edition of 4 variee)
Dimensions : 44 x 49 cm each


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Alastair and Fleur Mackie’s sculptural practice is one of contrasts. It is as labour-intensive as it is formally effortless, as grounded in ideas of nature as it is in the intrinsically human struggle to define a role within the environment; it is as intellectually ambitious as it is aesthetically understated. Alastair grew up in an agricultural community in Cornwall, UK while Fleur’s childhood was split between Cameroon, France, and the UK. They met at art school in London in the late 90’s. Initially their creative practices were separate, but over time their work has evolved into a natural collaboration.  In 2011 they moved to live and work in Cornwall, the landscape of which has played a key role in the shaping of their vocabulary. Naturally occurring elements (native metals, wood, sea shells) are meticulously rearranged and transformed in a knowingly quixotic attempt to make sense of the primordial. Each work is something of an enigma, enriched by the loaded associations of its material and the story behind its making. Ally and Fleur operate by reduction; materials are pared down to their core. In their work, process dictates form, no matter how poetic or Romantic the piece’s origin. 

Alastair and Fleur Mackie have shown extensively in the UK and internationally, including exhibitions at the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Venice Biennale and the Reykjavik Art Museum. They have worked on a number of public commissions and their work is held in collections including The Olbricht Collection in Berlin, the Salsali Private Museum in Dubai and the Wellcome Collection in London.