Abigail Fallis (born 1968 London) is a British sculptor, known for her commentary about over-consumption and

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

. Fallis trained at

Camberwell College of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in silversmithing and metalwork."Darling of the UK Art World Abigail Fallis Exhibits"
ArtDaily.org, 9 August 2006. Retrieved 2012-02-11. She initially wanted to be a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

but instead she chose to work with lighter, softer materials.Laura Barnett
"Polly Morgan, Sarah Lucas and the rise of the female sculptor"
The Guardian (London), 22 May 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-11. Abigail Fallis focuses on the environment and consumer-led society, in other words her work revolves around modernity. Her art portrays her outlandish sense of humour and commentary on consumerism and the environment. Fallis's works first brought to public attention include a pair of framed hand stitched

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

underpants Underpants are underwear worn on the lower body generally extending no higher than the navel. In British English they are often called simply pants. If a given pair of underpants has a wider waistband, it might bear the brand name of the manufact ...

, entitled ''Cock-Eyed Jack'', a comment on the

Cool Britannia Cool Britannia was a name for the period of increased pride in the culture of the United Kingdom in the mid- and late 1990s, inspired by Swinging London from 1960s pop culture. This loosely coincided with the latter years of John Major's conservat ...

phenomenon. These were featured on the BBC documentary "New Brit". In 2009 a public sculpture by Fallis was installed in Central Square, Newcastle, entitled ''DNA DL90''. A monumental

double helix In molecular biology, the term double helix refers to the structure formed by base pair, double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double Helix, helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its Nuclei ...

of shopping trolleys, commenting on contemporary consumer culture. The sculpture opening was attended by

James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biology, molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper in ''Nature (journal), Nature'' proposing the Nucleic acid ...

, best known as one of the discoverers of the structure of DNA in 1953 with

Francis Crick Francis Harry Compton Crick (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins played crucial roles in deciphering the Nucleic acid doub ...

and

Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer. Her work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal ...

."Shopping trolley artwork unveiled"
BBC Newcastle, 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-11. Fallis took part in the "Women Make Sculpture" exhibition in 2011, at the Pangolin Gallery, London. She had previously been the gallery's first sculptor-in-residence, for a year from October 2008.Abigail Fallis
Pangolin Gallery. Retrieved 2012-02-11. Fallis is much concerned with environmental matters such as

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...

, as shown in her recent exhibition "Fallis in Wonderland"."Abigail fallis exhibition is pure animal magic."
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Tom Hodgkinson Tom Hodgkinson (born 1968) is a British writer and the editor of '' The Idler'' magazine, which he established in 1993 with his friend Gavin Pretor-Pinney. His philosophy, in his published books and articles, is of a relaxed approach to life, ...

, editor of The Idler, wrote that ''Fallis in Wonderland'' was : “an exhibition of sculptures that are startling in their collision of qualities: for here is wit, beauty and protest; here is life and passion; here is playfulness and fun; here also is awe and wonder; and here is a commentary on an unsustainable way of living…Abigail Fallis’ work takes the fun, the wit and the radical political edge of Dada and combines it with beauty and gentleness and the result is a triumph.” Fallis is also a participant in the "Ghosts of Gone Birds" project, which will raise money and awareness for

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

's Preventing Extinctions programme. Fallis's work is part of many public and private collections including Parabola Land Ltd and The Damien Hirst "Murderme" Collection. Fallis uses various materials in her sculptures including bronze, paper and felt. Regarding her work Fallis has said " I'm a maker, I use my sculpture as a thinking tool. I'm naturally inquisitive and quite sceptical about the way information is relayed to consumers by the media. it is this that fires my imagination and inspires me to make.″ Radio 2 Arts Show with Claudia Winkleman, interview with Penny Smith for Women Make Sculpture".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fallis, Abigail 1968 births Living people 20th-century British sculptors 21st-century British sculptors 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English women artists Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts Sculptors from London English women sculptors 20th-century British women sculptors 21st-century British women sculptors