Jonathan Leahey

Sculpture Studio

Over the last 20 years I have worked exclusively as a sculptor, and have created numerous public art works in the United States, Ireland, Belgium and Australia. All public commissions have been completed on time and within budget. These have ranged from monumental stand alone steel works created entirely from objects found on site to kinetic, animatronics installations.

I have collaborated with many different people and in many different situations; to achieve the safe and appropriate installation of public art in city gardens or restaurants (for example, with structural engineers and planning officials from the Los Angeles City Council), to arranging logistics for a film shoot in the Sahara Desert (with the head of a Berber tribe in Morocco), or to create a fire breathing centrepiece for an international arts festival (with electrical engineers in Ireland). In my current practice I work closely with a wide group of people with different skills. Depending on the job these may include welders, architects, combustion technicians, risk managers, structural engineers, electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, crane drivers, interpreters and accountants. Collaboration is the key to a good job. The creation of a sculpture does not stop at the original design – success lies in the bringing together of the right team to get the job done.

Each public commission has required specific responses to the site, its history and its current use. My approach in each case has been similar; my idea for the work at each location has developed and been honed from observation of the area, discussion with the surrounding community and a strong, and often visceral, visual response to the brief. My work creates a local identity – resulting in immediately recognizable, iconic image, accessible to the casual observer and inviting deeper consideration on a more complex conceptual level crossing over time

"Being an artist in residence here, is being part of the community. It's a responsibility which I accept and honour. It's an opportunity to create. It's another family. I work really hard and although I'm messy and under-organised; I honour the location, and the essence of Gasworks Arts Park. I'm enlivened with interactions with dogs and their owners"

-Jonathan Leahey

Copyright of all images remains the property of the artist.