I started making 'Strange Alters' In the early nineties.  Being at art college as a mature student, juggling life's other demands,  was challenging, but I cherished the opportunity of being there. My college studio-space in St Albans provided quiet times during early morning hours, which fostered introspection and creativity.

At one point, alone at 6am and with some uncertainty about my artistic direction, I constructed a personal and strange altar on the floor to  symbolize patience and openness to inspiration. This practice of creating and removing altars persisted, influencing my artistic journey. If I referred to them I continued to call them Strange Alters. Years later I came across a book called: Beautiful Necessity: The Art and Meaning of Women's Altars, by Kay Turner and published in 1999 and was reminded of my first Altar.

From an entry in my 2011 journal: ‘Currently I’m giving myself time to explore. In my explorations I intend to make Altars to the idea of ideas’.

Inspired by the structure of the Periodic Table, I committed to exploring altars as a means of conceptual expression. This led to installations featuring hessian cushions which represented the chemical elements of the Periodic Table, merging science and art in woodland settings. Out of previous artworks I’d made based on grids I’d become interested in repletion and multiples; the sachets fed into that interest.

A chance visitor to the Installation likened the sachets to fungi growing on trees, a comment that resonated with me, reflecting the interconnectedness of nature, science, and art. These installations embodied my fascination with repetition and the complexity of the natural world.

Periodic Sachets - Hessian and stencilled text -  8x8cm each

Linda Sgoluppi Art