“Everybody experiences tragedy at some point in their life and for me these Stack pieces are all about what happens afterwards. They have a hopeful quality to them I think, that’s what I want them to have.”
— Annie Morris
Presented for the first time at auction in Asia, Annie Morris is a London-based artist born in 1978, who is best known for her ongoing series of Stacks. At first glance, these gravity-defying, vibrant sculptures are both cheerful and playful, composed of lumpen spheres of irregular sizes that bring to mind building block sets adored by children. Behind his appearance, however, lies a sense of fragility as each tower exudes a delicate equilibrium that belies the emotional depth they contain.
The Stack series originates from a period of darkness in Morris’ life following the tragic stillbirth of her first child. It was during this time of grief where Morris started to create these round forms reminiscent of swollen bellies, which seem precariously stacked yet stand sturdily with an unyielding sense of fortitude against the odds. Operating as metaphors for hope, each Stack embodies the idea that one can overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges despite life’s unpredictability.
To create the series, Morris first began by initially sketching out oval shapes, which she subsequently transformed into three-dimensional spheres composed of polystyrene or foam and plaster. Coating each ball with vibrant pigment primarily focused on ochre, grey, brown, red, and earthy ultramarine, Morris ‘[tries] to freeze the moment when paint hasn’t yet dried and is caught in its most raw form.’ i
Morris’ Stacks have featured in multiple solo shows in recent years. This includes her first UK museum solo show which was held in 2021-2022 at the Yorkshire Sculpture Garden, as well as Timothy Taylor in London in 2021 and Château La Coste in Provence, France in 2022, where Morris was the first artist to occupy the new pavilion of the Oscar Niemeyer-designed pavilion. Numerous prestigious public collections have acquired her work, such as Fondation Louis Vuitton, France/Shanghai and Perez Collection, Miami.