Renowned artist Laura Ellen Bacon is set to unveil her latest site-specific exhibition, titled Into Being, at the historic Chapel within the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. This extraordinary exhibition will be on view from April 5th to September 7th, 2025. Bacon's monumental installation, made entirely from hand-woven Somerset willow, seamlessly integrates with the chapel's atmospheric interior, creating a visual narrative that feels as though it has always belonged within those hallowed walls. The installation serves as a material response to the architectural memory of the chapel, engaging in a dialogue with its tall stone walls, filtered light, and resonant acoustics.

The sculpture itself is a striking presence that occupies and envelops the space, extending six meters into the nave and rising three meters up the walls. It wraps around the chapel’s features like a living organism, with abstract forms reminiscent of natural archetypes such as seed pods, burrows, and cocoons. This evocative design invites visitors to immerse themselves within the structure, allowing them to experience the installation from the inside out. The overall effect is both invasive and protective, creating a sense of unsettling serenity.

Laura Ellen Bacon undertakes the ambitious task of constructing the entire piece on-site over the course of eight weeks. Using willow as an architect might use lines in a blueprint, she draws directly into the space of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. In a profound nod to place-based artistry, she incorporates branches from fallen beech trees found on-site to create the framework of this self-supporting form. The outcome is a work that speaks to the primal concept of shelter, reestablishing a connection between human instincts and the natural world through its scale, materiality, and rhythm.

While drawing upon the ancient 10,000-year-old tradition of willow weaving, Bacon’s approach is decidedly contemporary. Over the span of two decades, she has honed a unique sculptural language that blends aspects of drawing, architecture, and physicality. Working mainly alone, she infuses each twist and tension of the willow rods with memory, embedding an intimate narrative into every knot. Her technique prioritizes a sense of closeness over spectacle, encouraging viewers to engage deeply with the craftsmanship and the meditative nature of her repetitive motions.

As Bacon transforms the 18th-century Chapel at Yorkshire Sculpture Park with her monumental willow installation, she emphasizes the importance of environmental consciousness through her choice of materials. The use of Somerset’s Dicky Meadows willow not only highlights the renewable and strong qualities of the material but also allows her to create sweeping gestures in space without relying on industrial methods. Once the exhibition concludes, the sculpture is intended to be dismantled, with the materials returned to the landscape to support local wildlife. “It will be a sensory experience,” Bacon explains. “There is so much willow, and it has a beautiful aroma… the light from the Chapel windows will affect and change the work throughout the day.”

Into Being is imbued with a palpable sense of growth and duration. Far from being a static piece, the installation embodies an evolving dialogue between the artist, the materials, and the space itself. Bacon’s creative process commences with initial sketches but ultimately relies on instinct to guide the formation of the final sculpture. As the title suggests, the piece almost takes on a life of its own, with its folds and tendrils suggesting an animate quality. The experience for visitors is both spatial and emotional, confronting them with a work that balances the strange and the familiar, the monumental and the delicate.