WAKEFIELD.- Alice Channer (b. 1977; Oxford, UK) exhibits new work created for The Hepworth Wakefield. Collectively titled Invertebrates, the work takes inspiration from invertebrate jellyfish, squid and other deep-sea boneless creatures with a recognisable form that is dependent on an aquatic environment to provide their body shape and function.

Channer explores various sculptural properties through the modification of flat surfaces by pleating, curving, stretching and contracting. This is further developed through the play of materials in her work, whereby solids are used in their liquid, or 'invertebrate,' state. Stainless steel, silk, aluminium, perspex, bronze, elastic, marble, polyurethane resin and hi-tech lamé are presented as liquids that clot, thin, coagulate, melt and solidify in her work.

Jessica Jackson Hutchins (b. 1971, Chicago) makes her solo debut in a UK public gallery with new work.

At the centre of the exhibition are three large-scale canvas works using industrial metal ladders as both base and prop. Conceived as paintings within space, these ladders are draped with painted and collaged canvasses. A sense of vulnerability is a key theme in Hutchins' work and these painting/sculpture hybrids embody fragility as they expose the workings of their own construction. Alongside these works are several pieces bearing large hand-moulded ceramic vessels that mimic the human body's weight, imperfections and frailty.

Linder Sterling (b. 1954; Liverpool, UK) has been working with the principles of collage for over three decades: from her two-dimensional work on the late-1970s iconic Buzzcocks posters and record sleeves, to more recent collages presented in lightboxes. For her exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield, Linder employs collage as two-dimensional prints and three-dimensional light-box sculptures. Drawing on her longstanding research into Barbara Hepworth, the new works combine images with natural forms, making reference to Hepworth's love of dance, and her engagement with the landscape.

The exhibition will culminate in a major new performance piece by Linder titled The Ultimate Form on Saturday 11 May, presenting collage as a visual and sensory experience using choreography by Kenneth TIndall of Northern Ballet, music by Stuart McCallum of the Cinematic Orchestra, and costumes designed by Pam Hogg.