At just 22, James Capper became the youngest person to win the 2009 Royal Academy of Art’s Jack Goldhill Prize for Sculpture. The British artist incorporates engineering techniques to create distinctive mechanical sculptures that can move, walk and crawl around.
The opening of James Capper: Mark Maker at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery marks the first time his work is being showcased in Australia. The exhibition includes more than 50 of the original drawings Capper used during the early process to record ideas before they became the mechanical art that will be on display.
For two weeks in October, Capper came together with Australian filmmaker Katzki in the outback town of Broken Hill. They combined their talents to make a 35mm short film that delves into the concepts of man, machine and environment. The cinematic collaboration features two of Capper’s major works, ‘Hydra Step’ and ‘Hydra Shuffle II’ moving against the vast, natural surroundings. Capper develops his art through Divisions and these machines were produced for the ‘Earth-Making’ Division. Behind-the-scenes footage from the cross-disciplinary, residency project and the two sculptures will be featured at James Capper: Mark Maker.