Theme and Variation, bronze
Peter Randall-Page’s practice has always been informed and inspired by the study of organic form and the natural world. His beautiful, often deceptively simple, sculpture offers a unique insight into nature’s microcosm by gently teasing out and exploring fundamental elements on a macro scale.
By scrutinising the complicated systems and mathematical sequences that are the blueprint of growth and form, much of Randall-Page’s work focuses on the tension and wonder of the symbiotic relationship between order and randomness.
In 2007, in collaboration with the Ruwenzori Sculpture Foundation and the London Sinfonietta, Peter Randall-Page visited the remote island of Lolui in Lake Victoria to explore the prehistoric rock gongs and the ancient rock art. The rock gong’s direct connection with human evolution and the birth of music and art offered Randall-Page the inspiration to create a fresh new body of work that formed the inaugural exhibition at Pangolin London, Rock Music, Rock Art. Three large painted bronzes were included in this exhibition titled Theme and Variation explored the subtle nuances of pattern and dialogue that arise when a uniform object meets a naturally formed boulder. The title was also a nod to Randall-Page’s passion for music and its similar ability to use structural building blocks for a seemingly random collection of notes as in jazz improvisation. He says:
"I am very interested in the idea of theme and variation, in natural phenomena as well as in music and visual art. Our universe seems to be driven by the dynamic tension between a ubiquitous tendency for spontaneous pattern formation, mitigated by an equally pervasive tendency for random variation. In fact, the evolutionary process itself can be seen as a result of these polarities. Theme without variation would be stasis and variation without theme is inconceivable chaos."