Two sculptures of a bear and a snake facing each other

Jordy Kerwick: Hydra vs Bear

Art Outdoors /

Jordy Kerwick: Hydra vs Bear

Hydra vs Bear depicts a battle between the gigantic water serpent from Greek mythology and a double-headed bear. Cast in bronze, the two beasts are poised mid-attack: Hydra rises from the ground ready to strike, while Bear lunges forward with claws and teeth bared. Sited on the Bothy Triangle at YSP, the works reflect Kerwick’s curious and playful approach to making.

Wolves, tigers, cobras, bears and unicorns all feature in Kerwick’s sculptures and paintings, along with hybrid and strange creatures. These animals are the subject of some of the earliest cave paintings, dating from the Palaeolithic era. The artist draws on these archetypes and ancestral memories. His monsters and many-headed creatures also hint at contemporary fears: the consequences of genetic engineering or the fallout from nuclear conflict.

I've always been a fan of storytelling and have been inspired by how writers create narratives. Folklore is the traditional way of telling stories, relying on distinctive characters and symbolism to tell tales of good and evil, life and death, and fear and bravery. In that sense, my work leans on those folkloric characteristics.

- Jordy Kerwick
  • A bear sculpture outdoors
  • people looking at a 3 headed snake sculpture outdoors
  • A group of people standing near to a 2 headed bear sculpture outdoors

About the artist

Jordy Kerwick (b. 1982, Melbourne, Australia) lives and works in Albi, France. He is a self-taught artist, taking up painting in 2016, and has exhibited extensively internationally. His paintings and sculptures are held in numerous public and private collections. Merging mythical creatures with human forms, flowers and landscapes, Kerwick’s imaginative work challenges the normal constraints of both adulthood and the artworld.

You may also like

  1. a sculpture of a bear
    News

    Jordy Kerwick: Hydra vs Bear coming soon

    5 June 2023
  2. A stone sculputure of a wolf-like creature with a human figure under an umbrella on it's back.

    Jordy Kerwick: One to give. One to take away (Unum dare. Unum ut auferat)

    –
    Jordy Kerwick’s fantastical creatures come to life in sculpture and paintings in The Weston Gallery and outdoors.
  3. Inside view of Heather Peak and Ivan Morison – Silence Alone in a World of Wounds, 2021 at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
    Art Outdoors

    Heather Peak and Ivan Morison: Silence – Alone in a World of Wounds

    Silence – Alone in a World of Wounds is installed alongside Upper Lake within a stand of birch trees and aims to create solitary communion with the natural world. Responding to the question 'Can art save us from extinction?', the artists developed a sculptural space made of natural materials including timber and thatch. It acts as an extended open pavilion and becomes a framework and quiet space set within nature.
  4. Barbara Hepworth Squares with Two Circles 1963 Bowness at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
    Art Outdoors

    Barbara Hepworth: Squares with Two Circles

    Squares with Two Circles is a large bronze work by Barbara Hepworth. The sculpture stands on the Hillside at YSP near to Hepworth's The Family of Man. The two circular apertures provide 'windows' to the landscape beyond.