Jordan Sprigg Sculptures
Jordan Sprigg, a recycled metal sculptor in Western Australia, transforms old tools into majestic animal sculptures, blending artistry with farm-found history.
Edition 3 feature (September 2021)
We Interview: Jordan Sprigg
Location: Western Australia, Australia
Photo Credit: ©Jordan Sprigg
What is it that you do and how do you do it?
I am a recycled metal sculptor. I collect lots of old recycled metal, mainly from farms – machine parts, old tools, anything that’s metal – and I then weld it into a sculpture of an animal of some description. I always begin with the animal, that’s where the inspiration comes from. There are just so many creatures to create that it’s almost endless, and I can’t think about making anything else at the moment. They can even be fantasy animals – I love dragons and griffins – and I’d love to go down the dinosaur route as well.
Once I’ve built one big thing, I like to mix it up with a few smaller things after that. My biggest piece to date has been the rhino and now I want to go bigger again. Most artists just want to keep challenging where they’re at.
The animal is what drives me. My big pieces specifically go to outdoor public spaces and they have a real impact on the area. You get a lot of people stopping and looking at a piece, taking photos with it and talking about it. I encourage touching; I just don’t encourage climbing – that can get out of hand. I like people going around and picking out things that they can identify and touch, it’s all part of the process. The smaller pieces are good for private collections – it might be in someone’s house. I like to do a little bit of both, but these days if I do a big piece, it’s pretty much going to be for a public space.
I did a lot of exhibitions and festivals when I was coming through as an artist and that definitely helped me to build a reputation locally. I have sold pieces internationally, but the majority of collectors are local or within Australia. With what I do, everything’s heavy and everything’s big, and those two factors add up to ginormous freight costs. For some of my clients, that’s not an issue, but it’s also so much easier to sell a sculpture if the buyer can see it in person.
That said, the opportunities you can get with social media are just incredible. Using Facebook, Instagram and now Tik Tok has helped me push my name out to people that I’d never think would be able to see my work. Without social media, I don’t know if I’d still have the job that I have today, just because most people who buy from me come through either Facebook or Instagram.
Where are you based?
