Discover the Artwork   of Phil Searle

My practice sits at the intersection between art and archaeology. I create installations that are performative and challenge the museological contexts by using both found and made objects to explore what is fact and / or fiction. I create authentic artifacts that subvert the system encouraging the viewer to explore and try to understand what they are seeing. The artifacts although contemporary are made with traditional methods allowing for interpretation of their age, old or new, challenging the presumptions of the normality of using artifacts simply to tell history and not as valuable works of art. The materials are also traditional such as ceramics, metals and flint but there are modern twists to be found to blur the parameters. 

I use archaeological and historical research to explore the material remnants of the past, using made and found objects in a contemporary artistic context. Through a process of historical research and archaeological digs I explore the material remnants, forgotten structures, and lost voices that shape a location’s identity. I am looking to merge historical and archaeological research with contemporary art practice to provide a space that is both a historical site and a space for reflection

The work is performative, I am the myth maker, the Antiquarian enticing the viewer to act as detective whilst they try to understand what they are seeing whilst allowing for the exploration of the artistic qualities of the artifacts, rather than simply as objects. 

Each installation begins with a delve into the archives of old maps, records, histories, and physical artifacts. I look at how past civilisations, industries and communities have left their marks on the landscape through architecture, mark making, or cultural memory. All these are brought together in my installations which incorporate a multitude of materials and sculptural interventions to reimagine the past. 

I invite viewers to engage with history asking them to reconsider their relationship with the past and by illuminating the buried stories of the past, I bring awareness to the complicated histories that continue to shape our lives and environment. Ultimately, my practice is an act of reanimation—bringing to light the voices and structures that time has obscured. It is an invitation to witness, to question, and to uncover the unseen narratives woven into the landscapes we inhabit.