The Black Dog

A familiar metaphor for many of us, the black dog represents Nic Joly's battle with depression and the artist chose to revisit this imagery after he struggled with his mental health over UK lockdown. However, the inspirational and heart-warming scene that this handmade studio edition wall sculpture represents, is that if you accept the darker times and the limitations of your mental health, then you have more power to face it head on and tell it to "BACK OFF"! Originally, carved in plaster then cast in black resin, the eyes and features of the black dog are hand painted by Nic as is the text held up with wire parallel to the bronze cast sword.

For Summer 2021, Nic reflected on his experience of the last 65 weeks in the UK. He ponders that "When we all woke up on the 23rd March 2020 none of us could really understand how our whole world was about to change forever.  We were all suddenly given a focus, a spotlight on our lives and the world we live in because of a global crisis.   This body of work was born out of this experience and fact, but is not lead by it.  I don’t see this as a lockdown collection.  I see it as a sketch book of thoughts, observations, emotions and rethinkings born during our 65 weeks of national lockdowns."

Described by the popular artist as his "most personal collection", you can read more about 65 Weeks on our blog or shop the artist's full portfolio here.