Sculptures by contemporary artist Daphne Wright

Two tall and spindly sculptures of sunflowers displayed on a low plinth in a gallery hung with gilt-framed oil paintings
Daphne Wright (b.1963), Maple Road Sunflower (big head) and Maple Road Sunflower (small head). Both 2019, mixed media. © Daphne Wright.

Exploring ideas about life, time and transition

Daphne Wright’s Maple Row Sunflower series presents six potted sunflowers made in dried, unfired clay. The Gallery acquired two works from the series in 2020. Both depict a sunflower nearing the end of its life.

While the flower of Maple Road Sunflower (big head) has lost many of its florets and leaves, its stem can still bear the weight of the flower head. By contrast, the flower of Maple Road Sunflower (small head) weighs down the stem so that it starts to wilt at the top. The dry, colourless clay conveys the fragility of the plants. Wright often uses familiar objects to explore ideas about life, time and transition.

See these works on display

These sculptures are currently on display in the Grand Gallery, located on level 3 of the Dargan Wing.

A closer look

Detail of Maple Road Sunflower (small head)

Grey sculpture of a dying sunflower with a spindly stem and large drooping flower head Daphne Wright (b.1963), Maple Road Sunflower (small head) (detail), 2019. Mixed media. © Daphne Wright.

Detail of Maple Road Sunflower (big head)

Grey sculpture of a dying sunflower with a spindly stem and large petal-less flower head Daphne Wright (b.1963), Maple Road Sunflower (big head) (detail), 2019. Mixed media. © Daphne Wright.