Where Wildness Takes Shape: The Making of Fibre Dog
Frieze Sculpture, Regent’s Park, London (2025)
This was one of the most fun and unexpected projects I’ve worked on in a long time! Together with master thatcher Mark Harrington, I was invited by the Turner Prize–winning collective Assemble to bring to life their concept of a mythical dog-like beast, created through traditional thatching techniques and a woven snout.
The structural frame was to be fabricated by the Italian furniture makers Unifor, and our early planning sessions — a mix of sketches, Zoom calls, and translation challenges — were as entertaining as they were complex. Balancing artistic freedom with the practicalities of building something of this scale for a public setting was no small feat.
The creature, later known as Fibre Dog, was envisioned as something both menacing and comical — a strange, animated presence made from natural materials gathered from the park itself. Towering over its surroundings at nearly four metres tall, the sculpture needed to feel alive, textured, and full of energy.
Mark undertook the majority of the thatching work in his workshop, creating the two large body panels, while I wove the snout from willow — a 1.5-metre cone that gave the dog its distinctive character. Unifor created the fabulous body or frame of the dog from tactile, beautiful cedar wood. It was only when I saw these images of the other components of the structure, of the people and fork lift moving the frame, did I really comprehend the scale of this project!
After transporting the components to Regent’s Park, we spent two days assembling the sculpture, with help from the M-tek team. They were phemoninal to witness, calmly and professionally using cranes and years of art installation experience to smoothly put together this magnificent beast.
Mark and I had the task of blending all the elements together, adding thatch and other materials to create the overall look. The shaggy coat of serrated sedge grass gave the surface a wonderful movement and texture, though it wasn’t the easiest material to handle! We finished the form with contorted hazel details in the ears and tail, patching and blending until the structure felt cohesive and alive.
The completed Fibre Dog stood proudly in Frieze Sculpture 2025 — magnificent, mischievous, and warmly received by visitors and critics alike. It remains one of the most joyful and collaborative pieces I’ve ever had the pleasure to help create.
