British Library Conference Centre

Spiral Sheaves, 1991, by David Nash is a beautiful piece set in the stairwell of the conference centre at the British Library. I first came across the work of Nash in 2004 at Tate St Ives where he was exhibiting a number of pieces from the 'Sheaves' series. It is interesting to consider, in this piece, whether one sees the wood or the form first and how one's reading of one is influenced by the other. I love natural wood, my father having been a cabinet makers I have always been surrounded by beautiful wood, but I can see how relating to the wood itself which has had a life of its own can distract from the appreciation of the form. This must always be a paradox for sculptors who shape wood but allow its former nature to remain undisguised.