2026
Steel, Wood, Sugar Cube, Acrylic Mirror

This artwork operates through multiple layers of intrepretion

The double-edged sword references the familiar idiom describing something that carries both positive and negative consequences. Sugar itself can be understood in these terms. It has generated enormous wealth and economic development whilst simultaneously contributing to exploitation, environmental destruction and health concerns, like type 2 diabetes, obesity, tooth decay and mood swings.

The title draws on the Ancient Greek myth of Damocles. In the story, King Dionysius II suspends a sword above Damocles' head by a single horsehair during a banquet held in his honour, illustrating that power and privilege are inseparable from danger. The same could be said of sugar: beneath its apparent sweetness lies a constant sense of risk. In the UK the recommended daily intake of free sugars is approx. 7 sugar cubes or 30g, with the average amount consumed to be around 18 sugar cubes.

The second in the series of sculptures created for a group exhibition Mercurial - no.1 Everything That Is Solid Melts Into Air and no.3 Sweet Bitter.