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Lot Essay
Conceived in 1982, Leda belongs to William Turnbull's celebrated ‘Idol’ series, a body of work that occupied the artist throughout the later decades of his career. Drawing simultaneously upon the language of modernist abstraction and the forms of ancient artefacts, these sculptures embody Turnbull's enduring fascination with metamorphosis and ambiguity. At once highly sophisticated and seemingly archaic, Leda evokes a wide range of associations, recalling prehistoric fertility figures, ancestral totems and even Bronze Age weapons. Such shifting identities are central to Turnbull's work, allowing the sculpture to exist beyond any single interpretation.
The present work exemplifies the powerful use of form that characterises the ‘Idol’ series. Its elongated silhouette tapers to a point below while swelling gently at the centre before rising into a graceful neck-like form. The sculpture recalls the fertile female body, its rounded contours evoking protection, sensuality and fertility. From another, the same shape resembles a sharpened arrowhead, invoking ideas of conflict, danger and destruction. This tension between opposing meanings lies at the heart of Turnbull's sculpture of this period. The work appears both vulnerable and powerful, nurturing and threatening, ancient and contemporary. Rather than resolving these contradictions, Turnbull invites them to coexist.
The title further enriches the sculpture's network of associations. In Greek mythology, Leda was seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan, which resulted in the birth of Helen of Troy and ultimately set in motion the events of the Trojan War. The story is itself one of transformation, duality and consequence, themes that align closely with the concerns that Turnbull explores in this body of work. The sculpture may be understood as an abstracted image of Leda, its swelling form suggesting the female body and the promise of fertility. Equally, its elongated profile can be seen to evoke the elegant neck of a swan. In keeping with Turnbull's interest in metamorphosis, the work shifts continually between these readings, never settling into a fixed identity.
The present work exemplifies the powerful use of form that characterises the ‘Idol’ series. Its elongated silhouette tapers to a point below while swelling gently at the centre before rising into a graceful neck-like form. The sculpture recalls the fertile female body, its rounded contours evoking protection, sensuality and fertility. From another, the same shape resembles a sharpened arrowhead, invoking ideas of conflict, danger and destruction. This tension between opposing meanings lies at the heart of Turnbull's sculpture of this period. The work appears both vulnerable and powerful, nurturing and threatening, ancient and contemporary. Rather than resolving these contradictions, Turnbull invites them to coexist.
The title further enriches the sculpture's network of associations. In Greek mythology, Leda was seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan, which resulted in the birth of Helen of Troy and ultimately set in motion the events of the Trojan War. The story is itself one of transformation, duality and consequence, themes that align closely with the concerns that Turnbull explores in this body of work. The sculpture may be understood as an abstracted image of Leda, its swelling form suggesting the female body and the promise of fertility. Equally, its elongated profile can be seen to evoke the elegant neck of a swan. In keeping with Turnbull's interest in metamorphosis, the work shifts continually between these readings, never settling into a fixed identity.