Between May and September 1996 Paul was invited to exhibit a series of sculptures, drawings and a 'didactic display' at Tate St. Ives. The published brochure explains that
At the heart of the project was an invitation to Paul Mason to also make a new carving from uncut stone remaining in Barbara Hepworth's studio. As with a previous project with the sculptor Peter Randall-Page, this element of the project was made possible by the generosity of the Trustees of the Barbara Hepworth Estate and the artist's family, who make available this stone.
He was extremely grateful for the opportunity to work this piece of stone - and even more excited by the opportunity to do so in the small garage studio opposite the entrance to the home of the artist. Paul wrote of the experience
It was not intimidating to work on this piece of marble in the sense that it was once Hepworth's. However the proportions of the block are 4' 6" by 18" by 12", and so I felt as though it was ordered for a particular purpose. I know when I am ordering marble, if you are ordering a solid block you try and get it as cheaply as you can, to get the maximum out of the order. Often blocks are evenlu proportioned. These distinct proportions made me think that she either ordered blocks for specific pieces or she regularly ordered blocks that size. This definitely had, for example, a front and back. It had distinct axes. I was conscious of these being her decisions.
Amongst the works was an installation entitled Strata, shown above, of which the artist wrote
The courtyard installation Strata which is three pitched slabs of granite balanced on white marble chippings with molten lead poured into incised lines, is on one level a formal response to the classicism of the architecture and space itself providing a counterpoint in its brutal, physical shaping, as well as combining the granite - igneous, fire formed - with marble - heat and pressure formed, originally laid down on the ocean floor as eroded sedimentary material.
I didn't know that Paul had actually used the Hepworth marble for this piece - although I did know and have heard stories about the Tate residency (from David and other friends of Paul's). That must have felt like some responsibility. I'm trying to imagine having a canvas; stretched, ordered and ready for work - left by Francis Bacon. And I can't.
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