"Here in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is an opportunity, with a gallery and the outdoors, to make work that people can see, lay on, touch and engage in without photography as a medium. But a building no matter how beautiful is a dead space compared to the outside, and it takes whereas the ephemeral work gives. Well, I’ve given and now I want something back."
- Andy Goldsworthy Time Magazine
Andy Goldsworthy in a British environmental artist associated with land art, a movement where artworks are created directly within the natural landscape rather than in a traditional studio. His work is made using materials he finds at the location itself, such as leaves, stones, ice, mud, branches, and flowers. Instead of transporting materials or heavily altering the environment, Goldsworthy works with that is already present, allowing the landscape itself to determine the possibilities of the piece.
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A key theme in Goldsworthy's work is its temporary nature. Many of his sculptures exist only for a short time before they are altered or destroyed by natural forces such as wind, sunlight, gravity, rain, or the movement of water. Ice sculptures melt, carefully balanced stones collapse, and leaf patterns are carried away by rivers. Because of this, the artwork is often fleeting, and the photograph becomes the primary record of a moment that can never be recreated exactly the same way again.
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Goldsworthy often works slowly and intuitively, responding to the conditions of the landscape around him. Rather than forcing a predetermined outcome, he allows natural processes to become part of the artwork itself. For example, he may arrange leaves in a stream and allow the current to shape how they move, or construct a sculpture from icicles knowing that it will gradually melt. This approach means that chance and environmental factors play a crucial role in the final result.
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This emphasis on impermanence highlights themes of change, time, and the relationship between humans and the natural world. His work draws attention to the idea that landscapes are never static - they are constantly shifting through natural cycles that often go unnoticed in everyday life. By documenting these fragile moments, Goldsworthy encourages viewers to think about the temporary nature of both art and the environment itself.
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Goldsworthy's work also shares conceptual similarities with Susan Derges, who I have researched for this project, particularly in the way both artists allow natural elements to play an active role in the creation of the work. While Goldsworthy constructs temporary sculptures within the landscape, Derges works with rivers, moonlight, and natural movement to produce cameraless photographic prints directly in water. In both practices, the artist does not fully control the final image - instead, the environment contributes to shaping the result. This collaboration with nature means that each work becomes a unique record of a specific moment in time, influenced by changing conditions, which is something i'm interested in exploring with this project.
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Goldsworthy's work strongly relates to my project through his highlighting of the idea that nature is constantly changing, even when those changes appear subtle or predictable. His sculptures often look simple or temporary, yet they demonstrate how environmental forces are always shaping the landscape. This connects to my own interest in observing small, easily overlooked changes in nature and recognising that even expected processes occur differently every time. By photographing these subtle shifts and possibly collaborating with them like Goldsworthy and Derges, I am to reveal how moments in nature are never truly identical, encouraging viewers to pay closer attention to the continuous changes happening around them.
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As a first step into this experimentation, I could begin by allowing natural movement within the environment to influence my images. For example, I could use a slow shutter speed to record the movement of wind through grass or leaves or capture the motion in the flow of a stream, showing how the scene subtly changes over time rather than freezing it into a single fixed moment, and simultaneously, allowing nature itself to have a say in the outcome of the images.
"How does farming inform your work?"
"I lived near Leeds and worked from the age of 13 on a farm right where the suburbs began — and that was very important. I was always going to be an artist, since I was a kid, but the impact that farming had was tremendous. It’s a very sculptural activity. Not just dry stone walls but stacking bales — big minimalist sculptures, beautiful and enormous. Plowing a field is drawing lines on the land, painting the fields — it’s incredibly visual. And the dead animals. When you’re a farm kid you see death all the time. When you see spring lambs hopping around the fields and then go round the back of the farm, there’s a pile of dead lambs every year — that’s the way it is. Dogs attacking sheep, raw brutal experiences and they’ve always remained in what I do. It’s such an important part of the landscape; it’s green and verdant because of it. So that’s why I put cow sh– on the window, to make you aware of it while you’re looking [out]. Right in front of your face is the stuff you choose to ignore."
“Goldsworthy works almost telepathically with nature, rearranging its natural forms in such a way as to enhance rather than detract from their beauty.”
- The Art Story
“Goldsworthy’s work celebrates impermanence… his installations are designed to decay, to be reclaimed by the elements.”
- The Art Districts
Andy Goldsworthy
Elm leaves (Fractured Bough) 2009
When I look at this image, the first thing that stands out is the bright strip of yellow leaves covering the fallen tree trunk. The colour is extremely vivid compared to the rest of the environment, which is made up of mostly darker browns and greens from the surrounding forest, moss, and water. The log runs diagonally through the composition, and leaves appear to have been carefully placed to completely cover a section of its surface. Cutting through the middle of these leaves in a dark jagged crack, revealing the natural wood underneath. Around the central log there are other fallen trees and a small stream flowing underneath, making it clear that the work exists directly within a natural woodland environment.
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The fallen logs also all create leading lines, joining together as they disappear from the frame. This creates a sense of journey in the image by presenting it to viewers with a visual order in which they can follow, reinforcing the idea of a journey or transformation that nature goes through and also creating an objectively pleasing composition.
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Although what we see is simply a tree trunk covered in leaves, the image suggests deeper ideas. The bright yellow leaves immediately evoke autumn, a season associated with change, decay, and the end of a life cycle. Leaves are something that naturally fall and eventually decompose, so their use here emphasises the temporary nature of the work. The crack running through the centre disrupts the otherwise smooth surface and almost resembles a fault line or lightning strike. The fracture could symbolise the instability of nature and the inevitability of change, suggesting that even something that appears carefully arranged or complete can be broken apart by natural forces.
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The contrast between the organised layer of leaves and the chaotic forest around it also highlights the relationship between human intervention and the natural world. While the arrangement of the leaves clearly shows the presence of the artist, the materials themselves remain entirely natural. This suggests that Goldsworthy is not trying to dominate the landscape but instead work within it, using what nature already provides. Over time the leaves will inevitably dry, move, or decay, meaning the sculpture will slowly disappear and return to the environment it came from. The photograph therefore becomes a record of a moment that could never in exactly the same way again.
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I find this work particularly effective because of how visually simple it is while still communicating complex ideas. The bright yellow leaves draw the viewer's attention immediately, but the crack in the centre adds a sense of tension and makes the image feel slightly fragile. It also feels as though the sculpture is already beginning to break apart. This reinforces the idea that nature is constantly shifting, even when something appears still.
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This piece also makes me think more carefully about how artists can collaborate with natural processes rather than documenting them. Goldsworthy's work is dependent on natural materials, weather, and time, which all influence the final outcome.