John Gibbons Temple, 1996-97

Using architectural form in a purely expressive, non-functional way is one of the central themes of John Gibbons' sculpture. Born in 1949 in County Clare, in Western Ireland, from an early age Gibbons was fascinated by the numerous castles, tombs, churches and ancient monuments in the local landscape. These structures were richly suggestive of Ireland's historic past. But his imagination was fired in particular by the evidence of a long vanished human presence which he found in their strategic positioning, ruined fabric, and mysterious interiors. To enter and occupy them, Gibbons found, was to be drawn into a context rich in implication. They recalled a world of containment and protection, power and control. Through these places he gained an awareness of the way interior, habitable space can resonate with human experience.  

-Paul Moorhouse,​ From Form to Metaphor: John Gibbons' Sculpture​,​ ​published by Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge​, 1997.​