Mark’s Iron Clocks are distinctly individual. Named after mythological characters, each clock possesses an extraordinary melting effect, reflecting the artist’s fascination with nature’s cycle and the immortality of time itself.

The first clock in the series is known as ‘Gaia’. Working intuitively, without sketches, Mark naturally devised a three dimensional form by shaping and layering the metal to create the impression of folds and overlaps within the sculpture. This unusual melting effect is a constant theme within the series, representing the concept of movement and fluidity that is so central to Mark’s vision.

As each new clock was created, these exceptional and distorted forms became increasingly complex, incorporating cracks and fissures in the latter stages of the series. Indistinct shapes and intricate details on the panels of each sculpture encourage different interpretations. This ultimately adds to the intrigue and enigmatic quality that each piece possesses as a whole.

From the initial concept of ‘Gaia’, followed by ‘Phoenix’, through to ‘Apollo’; ‘Zeus’; ‘Titan’ and most recently ‘Cronus’, the maturing of Mark’s artistic vision can clearly be seen.

Each clock in the original series is distinctive and no two faces are the same. The complex leaded glass is hand crafted to pick out the unique shape in each face and all the clocks are hand polished with the artist’s name added to the face and the trunk of the sculpture.

For further info, please contact:
Marcus Wilkinson
Tel: 07966 154590
Email: info@madsculptures.com

The latest and most revered of Mark’s creations – ‘Atlas’. Presented in hand-polished aluminium for a mirror finish that guarantees to catch the eye of any passer-by.

Cronus

‘Cronus’ is the latest creation in a series of Iron Clocks produced by Mark Avis. Standing at over seven feet, ‘Cronus’ is Mark’s most ambitious sculpture to date.

As Mark himself admits ‘this has been my most challenging creation yet – the contrast between the fractured sides of the clock and the soft, melting effect, was a completely new idea that I wanted to convey’.

To achieve this dramatic sense of fluidity and fragmentation, Mark spent hours layering and re-shaping the material, to create the distinctive soft and brittle effects. His aim was to portray the illusion of movement, encompassing the pull of gravity and the pressure of time simultaneously.

On close inspection, you can see the form of a woman in motion, whose body is beginning to melt as the force of time descends from above. Diametrically opposed to this are fissures on the other side of the clock, emphasising the disintegrating nature of time and the transient nature of life.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this particular piece is what Mark refers to as the ‘negative volume in the trunk of the sculpture’. This void reinforces the texture and depth of the main body of the sculpture, and yet paradoxically, it emphasises the fragility that can embody a work of art made of steel.

Titan “born of Gaia”

This was definitely my biggest challenge yet. I wanted this sculpture to be distinctly different from my previous creations, yet have the overall sense of the melting effect that my other Iron Clocks also possess.
The concept of movement and fluidity have been an important feature in all my work.

I had the idea of an ‘Adam and Eve’ creation before embarking on this work. My aim was to make one side of the sculpture more rigid and angular and make the other side a softer panel, with vertical creases following through to add to the illusion. I have also included a hole in this Iron Clock so that you can see right through it……into a different era, perhaps ?

The softer, oval panel represents ‘Eve’ on one side of the clock, symbolising fertility. This ‘weighted look’ is emphasised by the folds pulling down towards the earth. I have also moulded a long, flowing shape that drops down from the top of the clock that suggests a serpent.

‘Adam’s’ side, however, includes more contemporary influences, like the suggestion of a gun and a coca cola bottle shape around the face. This reflects my broader theme of ‘West of Eden’.

I have created indistinct shapes on both panels that are open to interpretation and added the impression of cracks in the iron representing, further, the fragility of life. I am pleased with the end result.

My head has been full of ideas while I’ve been creating this sculpture, and like the other Iron Clocks in the series, it has taken on a life of its own as each stage has evolved. This is what makes it exciting, and I think it is my most interesting work to date.

-Mark Avis

The third in this series of clocks, it was to be my tallest and heaviest by far …and it had to be ready in time to be shown at an important exhibition. I’m glad to say that I finished it just in time.

To create its huge form, I made some rough calculations on paper, scaling up the dimensions of the previous two Iron Clocks. But then I put the figures to one side, because I work much better by intuition.

My main point of reference is the human form – you’ll see that the proportions of all my Iron Clocks fit the proportions of people. For example, my clocks flex at the “neck” and tilt at “waist” height.

I decided to take several creative chances with this big clock. My original inspiration for the series was – believe it or not – the creases in our bedroom curtains. At some point in the middle of one night, I studied how the material folds and overlaps, and I knew that I wanted to add this effect to my iron creations.

For the first time, I added this creased effect to the base of this Iron Clock…and I also decided to make one side of the “head” very distorted, leaving the other almost untouched.

I am very pleased with the final outcome. This is perhaps my favourite clock in the series and, when finished, I added my name to the face and back of the clock with great pride.

- Mark Avis

When I told my wife about my Iron Clock dream, she thought that I had a mantle clock in mind! Instead, as you can see from this lovely Iron Clock, I created a timepiece on a far larger scale.

I woke up one night staring hard at the curtains in our bedroom, focussing on the way the material folds and overlaps. My thoughts were all muddled up at the time – something about working with hot iron, and how everything deteriorates as part of the natural cycle of life.

The next morning, I started work early and allowed all of these feelings and ideas to pour into my work. Many months later, I completed my first Iron Clock.

Working on this, my fourth clock in the Iron Clock series, it struck me how visitors to my workshop all have their own associations. I suppose this is partly because Iron Clocks are a completely new concept, never seen before. And also because people like to experience my work – looking, touching and talking about each piece.

For me, my Iron Clocks have a human form. Their proportions fit the proportions of people, flexing at the “neck” and tilting at “waist” height, for example. Each Iron Clock is special and different from the others, and no two faces are the same. This means that the complex leaded glass door must be hand crafted to pick out the unique shape of each face.

When it was time to say goodbye to this completed Iron Clock, I added my name with pride to the back and to its face. And I took great pleasure in hand polishing the entire piece one last time.

- Mark Avis

I always smile when I think back to the making of this Iron Clock.

It was only the second clock in this series, so all the challenges of creating my first Iron Clock were fresh in my mind. I had sketched out some ideas of how to realise this new creation – and I hoped that these notes would save me repeating previous mistakes.

Mid-summer heat drove me outside to work. It can get impossibly hot inside my workshop, especially when I’m shaping metal. Without thinking, I placed my sketches close by so that I could glance at them from time to time.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before welding sparks flew onto the pages, and the whole lot went up in flames. I moved fast, stamping on the papers in an attempt to save what I could. They ended up completely charred!

Luckily, I don’t rely very heavily on my sketches. In fact, I can’t draw properly to save my life. Somehow, working in three dimensions comes naturally to me. Each piece really does take shape in my hands.

Finally, I completed this, my second Iron Clock. I get tremendous pleasure from adding my name to the face and the back of the clock, and finally hand polishing my completed work before I eventually say goodbye.

- Mark Avis

Gaia “from the earth”

This was the first Iron Clock that I ever made, although the idea had been alive in my mind for a very long time.

The inspiration for this sculpture evolved from my personal fascination with the cycle of life and the immortality of time itself. Everybody and everything finally melts away into the abyss of time, only to re-evolve from the earth as some other new life form.

My sculpture Gaia, goddess of the earth, portrays this eternal process for me.

It was also important to me that the sculpture I created was suggestive, as an art form, and that it would give people the opportunity to interpret it in many different ways.

It was after months of dedication to this work, that all of my ideas finally evolved and came together in this sculpture.

On completing this Iron Clock I felt a huge sense of satisfaction and pride, and a significant weight off my mind !

-Mark Avis

Emerging as one of the most important sculptors in this medium, Mark Avis works with a tremendous energy and passion. His creations cannot be shown on paper or in sketches. They only come alive when machine hits metal and the sparks fly.

Impressive and strong in character, his extraordinary sculptures in the form of clocks also express an intricacy and attention to detail consistent with every piece created by this visionary artist.

Avis’ work is to be experienced rather than seen. It stops you in your tracks. You want to touch and feel it. You are excited and talkative, eager to share the visionary experience with others.

For Avis, each piece takes shape quite literally in his hands, growing with a life of its own into something unrepeatable. The process is slow and intricate, yet he creates extraordinary forms in hand-crafted, hand-polished iron. The Iron Clocks series is a completely new concept, never seen before.

Clock specialists, connoisseurs and art collectors around the world appreciate the unique nature of Avis’ creations. Access to his work is virtually impossible, as he accepts only a few individual commissions and creates series pieces in very low numbers.