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William Fairbank is building Whitegates Sculpture
Park in the grounds of his home at Bridgham in South Norfolk, to
display his pieces and the work of others he admires.
He's also building a new workshop where he plans
to film himself at work and a studio with wheelchair access.
"I had the carpentry business going from when I
started in about 1972," he said.
"I went to art college for a year, and then
carried on as a carpenter and joiner right up until 1987 when I
had my bad accident."
William was in a car crash which left him in a
coma for several months. He woke up to discover the friend in the
car with him had died.
"To have a serious car accident, particularly the
head injury, completely changes one's life. And one's family say
they're suddenly living with a different person," he said.
The accident left him walking on sticks. Retreating
to his workshop, he decided to try to create the Stations Of The
Cross in wood. They tell the story of Jesus's last day, and that
fatal journey to his death.
"I chose to interpret them in my own particular
way.
"Within the experience of living with the
head injury, I decided I would use them to explain to myself, and
outwards, what living life under this extraordinary pressure was."
One of William Fairbank's sculptures which tells the story of
Jesus' final journey. |
The large flat pieces, beautifully detailed and
full of human figures, are inlaid with different kinds of wood.
"Different people pick up on different things.
When I'm touring I find myself talking about pressure.
"Obviously Jesus was under pressure on the
day he was killed.
"And I'm under pressure now living with this
head injury, and we're all under pressure in different ways."
He says he works with wood because it's a living
thing.
"It's extremely difficult. The wood's always moving.
On a hot day even very old wood expands and contracts.
"And the way the grain moves and different
woods react keeps you on your toes," he said.
Although he's picked a classically religious subject,
and is happy to be labelled a Christian, he's only satisfied as
long as that doesn't exclude anyone else.
So what about the thorny question as to whether
he sees himself as a craftsman or an artist?
"The art brigade consider wood is a craft material,"
he said.
"But I see wood as just another medium alongside
bronze or stone or paint.
"And the artist side is how you see things,
and how you interpret things. And from that point of view, I'm most
certainly an artist!"
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