According to Brian Thompson, his sculptures are topographical in nature and bring together two themes: a physical engagement with landscapes through walking and invention in the craft of making sculptures and prints. A current concern is how we map, record and value landscape through notions of the “picturesque” and through revisiting the methodologies of the Romantic Poets – which included walking. He is interested in how journeys inspire and explore landscapes, man-made or otherwise and why paths build over many generations. These journeys show the topography of the world, reveal something of its history and give insights into how we come to know and navigate our world. A significant part of the work is the approach to form and the considered use of colour, materials and associated processes. Sometimes these become ‘patterns’ for casting or constructions in materials relevant to the location such as wood, paper, iron, glass, bronze, porcelain or lead. The work serves as records, memories, souvenirs and sometimes trophies.

Thompson’s walks, recorded through GPS tracking or tracings from maps and aerial photographs, become the ‘line’ of the walks and the starting point of the sculptures and prints. These ‘lines’ are often cut by hand, typically in wood, with each layer becoming the template for the next. Through small increments of size the sculptures evolve, tapering downward from top to base and incorporating the errors and corrections that occur along the way—marking, layer upon layer, in geological fashion, the history of their making. These too can become ‘patterns’ for fabrication in materials and colours directly relevant to the location, or in those that simply “come to mind” during the walk.

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Descriptions adapted from Brian Thompson’s website and Ellen Mueller’s website.