From the Arid Lands and the High Ridge and the Southern Swamp the ‘Representatives’ are gathering here at Sladers Yard. They have travelled far and have much to discuss. Meet them here as they set the world to rights.

Sculptor Clare Trenchard has become highly acclaimed for bronze sculpture that captures the essence of animals and wild hare-humans. However, three years ago she began to explore making human figures in ceramic inspired by Moroccan travellers and nomadic people in harsh landscapes. The electrifying ‘Representatives’ are taller than life-size with flapping robes, headdresses and undefined faraway faces. In maquette they are also a delight whether gathering in groups or single. Clare’s drawings have followed a similar trajectory. Revelling in the distinctive, humorous, decorative qualities of travellers on donkey, gossiping in the marketplace, figures in the dust and wind with the occasional hare. Her more recent drawings are exploratory and daring, defining the thrilling figures she has developed as sculpture.

Clare Trenchard writes:

“In August 2023 I started working on a new series of sculptures inspired by my Moroccan sketchbooks which contain drawings of people in markets, travellers, and nomads on the move. These large garden pieces are approx. 175cm tall. They are made in very specific but different coloured clays which are fired to a high temperature (1250c) which fully vitrifies the clay rendering it completely frostproof and therefore suitable for garden installation.

Then in 2025 I began developing a new series of drawings that explore the themes found in my sculptural work — the rhythm of human movement through space. These works often originate from sketchbooks filled with observations made during travels. Using mixed media on paper, I build layers of line, paint, and collage to suggest presence and memory. The figures emerge and dissolve into the surface, their forms shaped as much by absence as by mark. These drawings are studies in structure and relationship — between people, between colour and tone, and between the seen and the implied.”