Danays is a British sculptor and photographer. Her work aims to transcend time, scale, cultural and religious barriers. She meticulously photographs her sculptural work, which combine marble and alabaster hand-tooled pieces with sacred and secular antiquities to make a powerful merger of contemporary amulet and archived curiosity. In some cases the object exists in its entirety, in others it does not. In so doing she embraces the ideas of Baudrillardʼs Simulacra and Simulation, where physical objects and actual experience are exchanged for representation and voyeurism. With the real thing swapped for secondary visual stimulus or assumed experience, it is no longer of consequence whether the original exists, as our relationship is only with its copy. These ʻcopiesʼ are available as limited edition Type-C prints.


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Sarah Danays, selected quotes and collections

“Hugely ambitious and lyrical, with a beautiful use of space”
Grace, 2007 shortlisted Danays as one of the UK’s top five emerging sculptors, Le Prix de la Sculpture Noilly Prat, 2008
-Rachel Campbell-Johnston - Chief Art Critic, The Times Newspaper, London
Le Prix de la Sculpture Noilly Prat Judging Panelist, 2008

“Danays effects such radical juxtaposition with such remarkable craft”
-Peter Frank, Art Critic, Los Angeles

“More than anything Sarah Danays work impresses me because of its ability to gain sweeping significance through a meticulous care for detail applied to idiosyncratic particulars”
-Dr Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programs, Wellcome Trust, London

“Danays has a great ability to see beyond normal physical levels on items she works with, and combines objects from different cultures and from nature making them a unique fusion of energies.”
-Christopher Cavey FGA & Associates, Gemologist, London

“Nearly twenty years ago I bought a piece from Sarah Danays from the Adam gallery in London. While it is now defunct her work – Billy remains in my collection and sadly while a bit moth eaten – it still retains its punch. The work part of a show called Child Crime features a large photo of a 1950’s British lad with a slingshot. He wears a grey sweater that Danays had reproduced and which stands near by the image. It is a strong work that reflects how we see children and violence and with the memory of Sandy Hook so fresh in our minds it is more relevant than ever.”
-Michael Petry, American-born multi media artist and Director of MOCA, London

“We have been admirers of Sarah Danays' work since we met in 1994 and seen it develop from the most exquisite stitch through the juxtaposition of precious found objects to her latest project, carving marble and alabaster. There is an obsession with the perfection of process which, together with her discerning eye and wit, results in work that is always surprising, emotionally resonant and visually satisfying. Danays has a brilliant and seductive mind, guaranteed to unsettle as much as it fascinates.”
-Admiral Lord West and The Lady West, London