Phyllida Barlow: Peninsula (2004)

The resulting exhibition comprised nine sculptures, some of considerable size and others of a more intimate, personal scale.

Barlow makes large-scale sculpture from low-tech, mundane materials like rubber, tarpaulin, polythene, bitumen, concrete, paint, foil, rags and plaster.

The construction of the works is informed by the sculptural possibilities of form, mass, volume, space and scale. For Barlow, these materials have the advantage of being cheap and readily available, but more importantly they lack the gravitas and status of traditional sculptural materials of stone and metal.

The title of the show, Peninsula, reflects some of the physical characteristics of the Level 4 gallery space, and its relationship to the city and in turn the city's relationship to the rest of the country. It might also be seen as a metaphor for personal and political relationships and notions of independence and reliance.