Olaudah Equiano - African, slave, author, abolitionist Sculpture

SCULPTOR. Born in the UK. Lived in London, New Zealand, Australia, Paris, New York. Backpacked round the world. Christy Symington MRBS studied traditional figure sculpture and drawing techniques in Paris at Les Ateliers Beaux-Arts Montparnasse and Glaciere, Ecole Superieure des Arts Appliques Duperre and L'ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts. This was preceded by a year of life figure/portrait modelling and sculpture techniques at Kensington and Chelsea College. She graduated from the New York Studio School with Merit Award for Sculpture spending 4 years in the USA [was the selected sculpture student to exchange to the Slade School of Art, London]. She took an MA in Fine Art at Byam Shaw [Central St Martins], University of the Arts London. With a PGCE Postgraduate Certificate in Education she teaches and mentors in several UK art colleges and schools. Christy is a Member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors since 2002 and Board Member from 2003-2007. She exhibits in the UK and internationally. How humans impact on the natural world and the interaction that each has with the other deeply underlies 3 areas of interest: FIGURES & PORTRAITS, TIGERS and ABSTRACT Sculpture and Drawings. Inspiration from the manner of process with a range of materials and altering traditional techniques is continually evolving alongside continuous research. Born in the Year of the Tiger and concerned for its survival. I am working on a body of work about the TIGER reflecting its beauty and threats that may mean it could be extinct in less than 20 years. I am a sculptor and tutor based in London. Interests in other cultural references, the effect of man on its environment and the cycle of life. My PORTRAIT SCULPTURES and FIGURES raise awareness of people whose achievements are substantial, but not widely known, to bring life to their story. These are often 'people of colour'. My ABSTRACT work envelops the ad-hockery of materials. Sensual impressions, textural scars and added remnants offer memories of that now absent. Growth, as well as decay, reveal the evidence of the cycle of life. Primal connections between peoples and their environments, both natural and urban, are linked by cultural beliefs and basic needs. Knowledge of the figure is blended into my abstract work and as time goes on, knowledge gained from the process of materials in the abstract work feeds into my portraiture and figurative sculpture. I exhibit and teach regularly.