STIK’s latest artwork is painted in one of Britain’s oldest caves deep beneath the Forest of Dean. ‘The Ochre Man’, a giant, approximately 8 metre (12 ft.) tall figure which appears to climb out of the cave is painted in ochre, a reddish earth pigment which has been mined there since the stone age. 

“‘The Ochre Man’ represents the re-emergence of the earth elements and a return of nature. I used raw unprocessed ochre from the cave to humanise the natural rock forms in the way that our ancestors did. I took great care to not disturb natural habitats and avoided historical artefacts and markings to collaborate with nature to the best of my ability”.

The artwork which lies 20 metres underground in Clearwell Caves was created under the guidance of Jon Wright, a free-miner whose family have been the mining in the Forest of Dean for over 200 years. 5 kilos of raw ochre was mined and processed by hand and applied to the rock using traditional methods. 

“It is similar to ancient art but it is a modern thing, it’s like a new seam of ochre, in a way it belongs to the cave. Nothing was brought in and nothing left, nothing has changed and yet it has. Everyone is struck by it, I have taken a few school trips around and they love that he is climbing out of the cave.”-Jon Wright

The Ochre Man is part of a unique sculpture exhibition “Back to the Cave’ hosted by Clearwell Caves in collaboration with Gallery Pangolin and features works by 47 international artists including Maggi Hambling, Tavares Strachan, Peter Oloya, Lynn Chadwick and Sarah Lucas. The show runs until August 29th 2022. ‘The Ochre Man’ is on permanent display or until the oceans rise again…

The show runs until 29th August 2022 at Clearwell Caves, The Rocks, Coleford, GL16 8JR

Stik