(b.1975, Birmingham, UK)


In his sculptural works, Roger Hiorns investigates physical and metaphysical transformations of ideas, actions and materials. Organic matter, chemical compounds and processes (like brain matter, fire, crystals, sperm and drugs) - along with such invisible ingredients as faith - are introduced into man-made structures, among them car engines and street furniture. Many of his sculptures and installations address the idea of immateriality in art and raises questions about the nature of doubt and belief. In the ambitious large-scale work SEIZURE (2008-9), Hiorns transformed an abandoned council flat in South London into a strange and somewhat sinister cave of blue copper sulphate crystals. Noticing that people used SEIZURE as a spiritual space, Hiorns says: 'there would be people, crossed-legged in the corner, meditating. I wanted to continue that thought, that you could be transformed and have your spiritual moment, whatever that might be, in an area that was designed for that.'