Sophie Ryder (b. 1963)

'Minotaur and Lady Hare on a Bench is the maquette for a monumental sculpture I made which now resides in the centre of Cheltenham. The theme of the minotaur and hare has been in my work for many years, the only difference being that the hare is now a lady-hare with a female human body and a hare head mask. I invented the lady-hare as a companion for the half man half bull figure of the minotaur, the hare's head seemed to fit so well with the female human body. For me the masks conceal the true identities of the humans inside which gives the onlooker more scope to develop their own feelings and meaning to my work.'