I am William Parker, a carpenter and furniture maker based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. After a lifetime working with timber, traditional tools and practical construction, I have developed a body of one-off sculptural work that brings together craftsmanship, reclaimed materials, surrealism and visual storytelling.

My sculptures begin with familiar objects: hammers, spanners, nails, saws and other tools that have already lived a working life. Rather than restoring them to their original purpose, I give them new identities and unexpected relationships. A hammer may find itself on the receiving end of a nail; a group of tools may appear to develop a life of their own. Through these altered relationships, ordinary workshop objects become characters in small, carefully constructed narratives.

Humour is often present, but there is usually something more beneath the surface. My work explores themes of power, conflict, resistance, belonging and the reversal of familiar roles. I want the viewer to recognise the objects, notice that something is not quite right, and then discover the details that give each piece its own character. I prefer to leave room for interpretation rather than explain every part of the story.

My background as a carpenter is fundamental to my practice. I approach each sculpture as a maker, considering balance, structure, materials and how the individual elements work together. The wear, marks and imperfections accumulated during an object’s previous life are part of its character, so I retain them wherever possible. Each piece is individually conceived and handmade, with no editions or repeated designs.

I see these works as a meeting point between craftsmanship and imagination: familiar objects transformed into something unexpected, with a new identity and a story of their own.