David Ward: The Skylark and the Stones

David Ward writes:

The works I have made for this exhibition bring together two themes. The first is the skylark and the second are Neolithic flint tools from the Salisbury Museum collection.

These flint tools, around 6,000 years old, were found in the area around Laverstock where I live, on the edge of Salisbury.The skylark theme also comes from the name of this village.

Laverstock in Old English is Lavvrecestoches or Lavertestoche. Laverte means lark or skylark, combined with the common term ’stock’ meaning ‘place’. And so Laverstock means ‘the place of skylarks’.

We still hear these wonderful birds each year when they nest on the ground of the chalk downs above Laverstock, sometimes strewn with broken flints.

The exhibition will also contain historical works relating to these themes including a Samuel Palmer etching: ‘The Skylark’; George Herbert’s poem ‘Easter Wings’; a Thomas Bewick woodblock print of the Skylark and an exhibit from Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.

The works will be displayed in the Wessex Gallery and the smaller temporary exhibition gallery on the first floor of the museum.

About David Ward

David Ward has lived in Laverstock for almost twenty years. He is an artist working in a range of media including light, sound, photography and performance. He writes, curates exhibitions and has made numerous permanent and temporary works in the public realm. He is also known for his collaborations with other artists, choreographers, architects and composers.

The dynamics of light are central to his work, together with elemental themes of the natural world relating to a wide variety of contemporary and historical references and associations.

See website: www.davidward-artist.co.uk

Image: David Ward, Yonder Stone II, 2024