Black Sheep Art

Nicola Turner, this year’s Ashburner Prize winner, has used part of her prize money to buy up 23 Black Sheep fleeces, advertised locally on Facebook, for her studio work. Sadly these days, farmers are struggling as sheep wool has almost no value. But for Nicola, and a local sheep farmer, it has been a godsend to find just what she wanted right on Stone Lane Garden’s doorstep. Nick Parker, curator of the 2021 Summer Sculpture Exhibition, is intrigued by her purchase. “Nicola’s piece ‘This Mortal Coir’ has been such a success, I am interested to see the creative use to which Nicola will put her black fleeces. It is likely to be both expressive and distinctive”.