A multi-disciplined artist working primarily in the rope-making tradition from his North Devon studio, Edward Crumpton creates unique works of art that deal in journeys–of the body and the mind, and the physical and metaphysical transformations that take place throughout.

Creating artworks that are enhanced by the communication between his materials, practices and influences, Ed creates artworks inspired by the earth’s topography and the people who once traversed it. Although profoundly influenced by tradition, Ed encourages the here and now to communicate with the past through the pieces he creates.

This push-and-pull effect of past and present mimics the memory of rope’s usage over centuries.

Following the elements, the landscapes and the stories of wherever he is, Edward creates physical responses both to his materials, and the myths and personal histories of his journeys: each piece carrying a message from its influences.

Feeling a natural connection to his home landscape, which is diverse in its geographic and geological formations—woodland, seascapes, granite, slate, moorland, cliffs–there is an instinctual interaction between the different components of his practices: be it flax, wood, leather or copper, they transform one another through contact, making a hybrid form, a junction on a journey, with the viewer making the decision as to which direction it will take them.

Photo credited Guy Harrop.