Collection
Universal Object
Benedict Carpenter (b. 1975)
Universal Object
bronze
2.9 m long
2002
Winner of the First Jerwood Sculpture Prize, 2001
In 2001 Carpenter won the first Jerwood Sculpture Prize with his proposal for Universal Object.
Universal Object works in a similar way to the Rorschach inkblots test, a psychological test in which subjects are asked what they see in a series of abstract inkblots. Universal Object could be an ant or an elephant and much else besides. Carpenter intends it to be 'a morphing presence' with the power to alter our perception of its surroundings as ‘trees become veins and arteries, or weeds or towering redwoods'.
Carpenter stresses that he wants the sculpture to retain formidable sense of autonomy, 'It will be an object that can stand for itself, alone' he insists, before admitting that the work probably reflects his interest in horror movies. The Frankenstein-like figure of the transgressor, a 'stand-in for the author or director', preoccupies him as much as the horrifying creature in H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr Moreau.
