Abigail Fallis (born 1968 London) is a British sculptor, known for her commentary about over-consumption and consumerism. Fallis trained at

Camberwell College of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgra ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, in silversmithing and metalwork."Darling of the UK Art World Abigail Fallis Exhibits"
ArtDaily.org, 9 August 2006. Retrieved 2012-02-11. She initially wanted to be a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

but instead she chose to work with lighter, softer materials.Laura Barnett
"Polly Morgan, Sarah Lucas and the rise of the female sculptor"
The Guardian (London), 22 May 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-11. Abigail Fallis focuses on the environment and consumer-led society, in other words her work revolves around modernity. Her art portrays her outlandish sense of humour and commentary on consumerism and the environment. Fallis's works first brought to public attention include a pair of framed hand stitched

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

underpants Underpants are underwear worn on the lower body. In British English the term is often shortened to pants and refers to men’s clothing only. Types of underpants Long underpants Long underpants are the bottom half of a style of two-piece unde ...

, entitled ''Cock-Eyed Jack'', a comment on the

Cool Britannia Cool Britannia was a name for the period of increased pride in the culture of the United Kingdom throughout the mid and second half of the 1990s, inspired by Swinging London from 1960s pop culture. This loosely coincided with John Major's conserva ...

phenomenon. These were featured on the BBC documentary "New Brit". In 2009 a public sculpture by Fallis was installed in Central Square, Newcastle, entitled ''DNA DL90''. A monumental

double helix A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

of shopping trolleys, commenting on contemporary consumer culture. The sculpture opening was attended by James Watson, best known as one of the discoverers of the structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin."Shopping trolley artwork unveiled"
BBC Newcastle, 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-11. Fallis took part in the "Women Make Sculpture" exhibition in 2011, at the Pangolin Gallery, London. She had previously been the gallery's first sculptor-in-residence, for a year from October 2008.Abigail Fallis
Pangolin Gallery. Retrieved 2012-02-11. Fallis is much concerned with environmental matters such as overfishing, as shown in her recent exhibition "Fallis in Wonderland"."Abigail fallis exhibition is pure animal magic."
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Tom Hodgkinson Tom Hodgkinson (born 1968) is a British writer and the editor of '' The Idler'' magazine, which he established in 1993 with his friend Gavin Pretor-Pinney. His philosophy, in his published books and articles, is of a relaxed approach to life, ...

, editor of The Idler, wrote that ''Fallis in Wonderland'' was : “an exhibition of sculptures that are startling in their collision of qualities: for here is wit, beauty and protest; here is life and passion; here is playfulness and fun; here also is awe and wonder; and here is a commentary on an unsustainable way of living…Abigail Fallis’ work takes the fun, the wit and the radical political edge of Dada and combines it with beauty and gentleness and the result is a triumph.” Fallis is also a participant in the "Ghosts of Gone Birds" project, which will raise money and awareness for BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions programme. Fallis's work is part of many public and private collections including Parabola Land Ltd and The Damien Hirst "Murderme" Collection. Fallis uses various materials in her sculptures including bronze, paper and felt. Regarding her work Fallis has said " I'm a maker, I use my sculpture as a thinking tool. I'm naturally inquisitive and quite sceptical about the way information is relayed to consumers by the media. it is this that fires my imagination and inspires me to make.″ Radio 2 Arts Show with Claudia Winkleman, interview with Penny Smith for Women Make Sculpture".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fallis, Abigail 1968 births Living people 20th-century British sculptors 21st-century British sculptors 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English women artists Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts Sculptors from London English women sculptors