Heads Up

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A wonderfully quirky and endearing sculpture by contemporary British artist Shirley Sharp, featuring an expressive face with exaggerated features and a rather intriguing, almost mischievous smile.

With its oversized, terracotta-coloured nose, softly rounded cheeks, full lips and unevenly shaped eyes, Heads Up is full of personality. The head is tilted slightly to one side, giving the character a curious, almost inquisitive expression. There’s something wonderfully amusing about this face, as though it’s just spotted something interesting or is quietly enjoying a joke that the rest of us haven’t quite caught on to.

Cast in Jesmonite, a hard, plaster-like composite material, the sculpture has been finished in a beautiful mixture of warm creams, soft yellows, muted greens and earthy pinks. The rough, irregular surface and deeply recessed features give it a wonderfully weathered appearance, while the subtle variations in colour bring warmth and depth to the face.

Shirley’s sculptures explore human behaviour, emotions and the curious ways we connect with one another. Inspired by years of sketching people in everyday settings, she deliberately exaggerates features and embraces rough, textured surfaces to give her characters a sense of having lived a life. Her work often balances humour with tenderness and vulnerability, reflecting the sometimes complicated relationship between how we present ourselves to the world and how we feel inside.

What we particularly love about Heads Up is its wonderfully ambiguous expression. Is it a cheeky grin, a knowing smile or a moment of quiet contentment? Shirley deliberately leaves her characters open to interpretation, allowing each viewer to find something different in them.

A charmingly unconventional sculpture that would bring warmth, humour and a wonderful sense of personality to a shelf, sideboard or favourite corner of the home.

Height: 23cm
Width: 18cm
Depth: 17cm

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