Bruce’s sculptural practice is concerned with evolution and the often brutal, uncertain relationship between man and nature. The sculptures have been made in Barcelona over the past 5 years, a city with a remarkable tradition of metal-work for a sculptor to investigate.

The fish sculptures, predominantly cast using the lost-wax technique in bronze, brass and silver appear to have been fossilised in metal. These sculptures are a development of a sculptural project shown in the Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona in 2005, aiming to bring attention to the unsustainable mass harvesting of the seas due to the huge world-wide needs of industry for food. The sculptures of birds represent the capacity of nature to metamorphosize and evolve in distinct and unexpected ways. Nature’s capacity to evolve and survive is put to the test by man’s interventions in nature.

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Hugo Bruce’s paintings evoke a Kafkaesque universe of tense calm, in which eclectic architectural objects appear animated in the drama of the scene. Their characteristics, combinations, and personalities give the works a strange allegorical quality. The idiosyncratic architecture of the Gothic quarter of Barcelona has been a strong influence, reflecting the disparate beliefs and cultures of its inhabitants through the centuries.