A Lydstep sculptor has been selected as a finalist to compete in a national competition.

Louis Okwedy is one of 10 UK based sculptors selected by a top judging panel to have been given the exciting challenge of exhibiting in the National Sculpture Prize Exhibition, in a bid to win the 2016 NSP title.

Each of the finalists was given a budget of £1,000 and three months to turn their proposed idea into an inspiring finished piece which is then exhibited at the Broomhill Sculpture Park in North Devon as part of the annual NSP summer exhibition.

The Broomhill Art and Sculpture Foundation launched the Broomhill National Sculpture Prize in 2009 for new and emerging UK-based sculptors.

Louis, who studied art and design at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC), and graduated from the West Wales School of the Arts, Carmarthen, in 2013, said this is the biggest creation he has made just by himself.

He said that he set out to create a geometric abstract sculpture that suggests ‘form and volume through negative space’.

The sculpture was developed from the manipulation of a single sheet of card and constructed in mild steel.

“Aided by human touch and natural interactions, the sculpture, referential of both the organic and industrial world, will evolve through time as it is claimed by its environment,” explained Louis, who transported his work to Broomhill this week, with the exhibition opening in June.

Two overall winners (to receive cash prizes) are announced each October, one chosen by the public through an online vote and the other by the NSP’s esteemed panel of judges.

You can read more about the competition here: www.broomhillart.co.uk/national-sculpture-prize/2016-finalists.html and also visit Louis’s website at www.louisokwedysculpture.co.uk/#!sculpture/cgo6