Design for Vorticist Ornament, 1914

The Vorticists were the first British artists to show a committed interest in abstraction. Gaudier, who was the only sculptor actively involved in the movement, came to abstraction from various angles. On the one hand he drew inspiration from non-Western art, in particular the simplification of human features he found in tribal artefacts from Africa and Oceania. On the other hand he shared with many artists of his time a fascination with the imagery of the machine as a symbol of industrialisation and the fast pace of modern life.

Gaudier combined these diverse influences to create a style based on the reduction of natural forms to basic geometrical structures, both in two and three dimensions. Design for a Vorticist Ornament is a useful example. The figure’s eye becomes a triangle, limbs are turned into saw-like implements and the body resembles a piece of machinery rather than a living being.

Gaudier’s abstract designs often echo the paintings of other Vorticists, in particular Wyndham Lewis. This drawing, which does not relate to a specific sculpture, is typical in its menacing appearance and sinister feel.