ARTIST STATEMENT

Ross Deeley (b. 2001, Birmingham) is an artist working across and inbetween sculpture, drawing, photography, and moving image.

Deeley’s work is a meditation on the passage of time, explored through the materiality of found objects and the embedded histories and mythologies they carry. In his humorous, unmonumental assemblages, light serves as a connective thread between the known and the unknown, illuminating invisible relationships between objects and ideas. 

Collecting and tracing the histories of objects forms the core of his process- influenced by modern philosophical movements such as Thing Theory and Object-Oriented Ontology, his practice considers how non-human entities exist within time; and how they perceive and absorb information beyond human understanding.

He conjures the latent energy of mundane and discarded materials- from discarded remnants and industrial waste, to the shells of overlooked creatures like snails and horseshoe crabs. This methodology acts as a speculative archaeology, both physical and digital, inviting reflection on the Anthropocene, the environment, and the contemporary landscape.

These works offer audiences simultaneous expressions of grief and hope, anxiety and wonder. They unfold slowly, inviting reflection, melancholy, and a quiet kind of futurity.

In 2025, Deeley graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Contemporary Art Practice.