Tim Shaw (born 1964) is a

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

-born sculptor and

contemporary visual art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

ist working in Cornwall UK. Tim Shaw was elected to be a Royal Academician in 2013 and won the Jack Goldhill Award for Sculpture at

The Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

Summer Exhibition in 2015.

Education

Tim Shaw completed an art foundation course at

Manchester Polytechnic Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

and then a BA (Hons) Fine Art degree at

Falmouth University Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...

Major works

In 2009 Shaw's sculpture ''Middle World'' was shortlisted for the

Threadneedle Prize The Columbia Threadneedle Prize (formerly The Threadneedle Prize) is a major art prize, which showcases contemporary figurative art. It was launched by the Mall Galleries in 2008. The prize is open to any artist, eighteen or over, who is living or ...

. From 2000 to 2004, Shaw was also working on a commission from

The Eden Project The Eden Project ( kw, Edenva) is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England, UK. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay pit, located from the town of St Blazey and from the larger town of St Austell.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Ex ...

for an installation that would span the entire vine exhibit in the

Mediterranean Biome The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the eas ...

. One of the figures originally intended for this installation was held back at the time due to concerns that it would be found too controversial. These fears were seen to have some foundations when Shaw's 2007 version of the figure, a three-metre high, "naked, portly, and proudly erect" rendering of ''

Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; grc, Σειληνός, Seilēnós, ) was a companion and tutor to the wine Greek god, god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue (''thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, ...

'', was attacked during its exhibition in a Vyner Street gallery in London's

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

by a man wielding an iron bar, shouting "You're worshiping the wrong God!". The influence of myth, seen in Shaw's early work, is once again present in his 2008 sculpture, ''Minotaur'', a piece that was commissioned to mark the opening of

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

's Opera, ''

The Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

''. After this, however, the more political side to his work becomes increasingly evident with a number of sculptures responding to issues such as terrorism and the

war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. Other armed conflicts involving Iraq * Wars during Mandatory Iraq ** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921 * Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...

. At this time Shaw was working in London as a Fellow sculptor at the

Kenneth Armitage William Kenneth Armitage (18 July 1916 – 22 January 2002) was a British sculptor known for his semi-abstract bronzes. Life Armitage was born in Leeds on July 18, 1916, the youngest of three children studied at the Leeds College of Art and th ...

Foundation. The main works he produced during this 2006 to 2008 residency were ''Man on Fire: What God of Love Inspires Such Hate in the Hearts of Men'', ''Tank on Fire'' (awarded the selectors' choice Threadneedle prize in 2008), and the multi-sensory installation ''Casting a Dark Democracy'' – Shaw's haunting response to the now infamous image of the

Abu Ghraib Abu Ghraib (; ar, أبو غريب, ''Abū Ghurayb'') is a city in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq, located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000 (2003). The old road t ...

prisoner, described as "one of too few works to engage unequivocally with the reality and human cost of the Iraq war."

Public and private commissions

* ''Drummer'' (2009–11), Lemon Quay,

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. * ''The Minotaur'' (2008),

The Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

, Bow Street, London. * ''Rites of Dionysus'' (2000–4),

, Cornwall.

Awards and prizes

*The Jack Goldhill Award for Sculpture at The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2015). * Threadneedle Prize Shortlist (2009), Mall Galleries * FBA Selectors' Choice Prize: Threadneedle Prize (2008), Mall Galleries'Now for a real art prize', ''This is London''
/ref> * Kenneth Armitage Sculpture Fellowship (2006) * The Mullan Prize (2005), Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition * Prince of Wales Bursary (2005), The British School at Athens * Millfield Summer Open Exhibition (2003), – First Prize * Discerning Eye (1997), Mall Galleries – Prize Winner * Delfina Studio Trust Award (1996)

References

External links

*
Tim Shaw Official WebsiteTim Shaw Official Blog

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Tim 1964 births Living people 21st-century British sculptors Alumni of Falmouth University Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Artists from Belfast British contemporary artists British installation artists Male sculptors from Northern Ireland Royal Academicians Sculptors from Northern Ireland