14 Brick Sculptures Designed By Rodney Harris & Valda Jackson
Since the early 1990s, Rodney Harris of Bristol, UK, has explored brick as a sculptural material. This experimentation led to an award-winning collaboration with Valda Jackson. Surrounded by abundant brick clay, Harris began treating brick much like a modelling material, which inspired him to use it directly in architecture. Together, Harris and Jackson have refined the technique of bringing familiar shapes and figures—like draped shirts, dress folds, and pleated curtains—softly out of brick exteriors, achieving remarkable, lifelike low-reliefs.
To bring this vision to life, the artistic duo’s projects are meticulously pre-planned. The process begins at the architectural stage to guarantee that bricks are correctly placed. All raw components are mapped out beforehand, and each step is carefully premeditated to ensure perfect execution during construction. Harris describes the creative process as inherently collaborative, involving clients, architects, tenants, communities, local authorities, materials manufacturers, and artists: “Everyone’s passion, aspiration, and identity needs to be explored, understood, and realised in a clear artistic vision for the work. It is a shared process culminating in work that fulfils complex needs.”
More info: Instagram | RodneyHarris
#1 Pinafores (2017) Brick
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#2 Uniform (2017) Brick
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#3 Brickmaker (2015) Telford, Shropshire
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#4 Sink (2017) Brick
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#5 Nesting Tree (2023) Boord Waalk Sculpture Trail, Amble, Northumberland, UK
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
“Nesting Tree”, the Bord Waalk Sculpture Trail in Amble, Northumberland. Four metres high, carved from local brick, situated on the coastal path next to the beach at Lower Hauxley Nature Reserve. The work references the historic forest that once stood in the area and contains nest cavities for birds, especially endangered tree sparrows.
#6 Windows (2024) Cossham Hospital, Bristol, UK
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
“Windows” sculpture at Cossham Hospital in Bristol. On the new MRI scanner facility where natural light is prohibited.
#7 Washing Line (2013) Brick, 5m x 2m.
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#8 Newport Castle (2012) Station Approach, Newport, Wales
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#9 All Our Tomorrows (2008) St Pauls Learning Centre, Grovenor Road, Bristol, UK
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#10 Thoroughbred Mare and Foal (1997) Nightingale House, Newmarket, Suffolk
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#11 Washing Machines (2013) Glazed Brick Relief, Shield Retail Centre, Filton, UK
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#12 Festoons, Brick, 70cm x 4m, Okehampton, UK
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
Commissioned by Boots Ltd for their building in Okehampton, Devon. They are part restoration and part reimagining of the reliefs that once were on the building and were accidentally removed.
This provided the opportunity to decolonise the original Victorian reliefs of the fruits of empire and replace them with fruits and vegetables that grow locally. They are in seasonal order, from spring to winter, left to right. There are three reliefs in total.
#13 Espalier (2023) Brick, 10m x 16m
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
#14 Curtain (2021) Brick, 6m x 3.5m
Image Source: Jackson&Harris | RodneyHarris
Got wisdom to pour?