Taslim Martin

Taslim Martin (born 1962) is a British sculptor and designer, creating works that range from public art commissions to domestic-scale items. He has undertaken urban space and park sculpture commissions in the UK and exhibited internationally. He was elected a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors in 2017 and is a Brother of the Art Workers' Guild. Works by Martin are in the permanent collection of the British Museum and of the Horniman Museum. His sister is poet, playwright and activist Ros Martin.

Biography Taslim Martin was born in 1962 in London, England, to a father originally from Nigeria and a mother from St Lucia. Martin studied carpentry and joinery at Southend College of Art and Technology, earning a City and Guilds certificate in 1981. He worked as a carpenter for ten years. He went on to attend art schools in Cardiff and then at the Royal College of Art in London (1996–98), being awarded the Sir Eduardo Paolozzi Travel Scholarship that enabled him to travel to Nigeria and to undertake research into West African sculpture. After graduating, he spent two years as artist-in-residence at South Hill Park arts centre, Berkshire, which culminated in a solo exhibition in 2000.

His work has since been widely shown, both in the United Kingdom and internationally; he has been engaged in gallery exhibitions, public art commissions and teaching, with his output ranging from portrait sculpture to public art and design. and Taslim Martin: Disparate Nature in 2010. Among his other public art is Twins, commissioned by Lambeth Council and installed in Brixton in August 2016, as well as a number of sculptures across the UK, including in Bracknell, Tottenham, Birmingham, Cambridge and Milton Keynes.

Awards 1997: Sir Eduardo Paolozzi Travel Scholarship 1998: Parallel Prize, Parallel Media Group PLC 2009: The shape of things bursary 2010: Jerwood Contemporary Makers

Selected exhibitions 1997: Student Showcase, Museum of Mankind, London 1998: Fish & Chips, British Art and Design Festival, Hamburg 1998: International Biennial Design Festival, Saint-Etienne 2000: The Power to Name, South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire (solo show) 2005: Mixed Belongings, Crafts Council 2007: Contemporary Primitive, 198 Gallery, London (solo show) 2008: Mark of Action, the Art House, Lewisham, London 2009: Made in Africa: portrait of an Ife ruler, The Manchester Museum 2010: The Global Africa Project, Museum of Art and Design, New York 2010: The shape of things at Flow, London 2010: Taslim Martin: Disparate Nature, Touchstones Rochdale (solo show) 2010: Pan African Craft Exhibition, South Africa