"I sculpt characters and beings - the dogs, the hares, the minotaurs - are all characters beyond animal form. I am not interested in making a replica. If you would put a real hare next to one of mine you would see great differences" – Sophie Ryder

Sophie Ryder was born in London, England, in 1963. During her childhood, her French mother travelled to Provence in the south of France where the family spent the entire summer. She studied Combined Arts at the Royal Academy of Arts where, while obtaining her diploma in painting, she was encouraged by fellow artist to develop her sculpture.

Ryder’s work includes human, animal and mythological figures, frequently melding forms to combine the attitudes and instincts of each. Anthropomorphic characters are used both to explore the human condition and as a metaphor for Ryder’s own feelings. Over several years she has evolved an ongoing narrative around the female / mother figure of the Lady-Hare; a hybrid with the head of a hare, and its body modelled on Ryder’s own. These sculptures have the potential to forge powerful images charged with character and emotion which go well beyond representation. Two examples of her Lady-Hare, Sitting, 2007 and Crawling, 1999 can both be found in Lower Park, by the Cameliia House.