Bad Copies: the drawings of Phyllida Barlow (Henry Moore Institute: Essays on Sculpture No. 65)

The sculptor Phyllida Barlow has described her drawings as 'bad copies': rough approximations of things she has seen. In these works she takes forms and objects from the real world and reconfigures them in line with her own sculptural concerns. Her practice of drawing has run alongside and informed the making of her three-dimensional work throughout her career.

In 2011 Barlow revisited her archive of drawings, looking back at the process of her sculptural development. This text marks this moment of review and accompanies Bad Copies, the first exhibition of drawings from her archive. This issue of our journal features an essay on Phyllida Barlow's drawings and has an interview with the artist.