Distinguished British sculptor Rob Ward is exhibiting his drawings and sculptures at Shanghai Sculpture Park, using paintings and stone together to recall memories of places and buildings where he once lived.That includes China, where he has traveled extensively over eight years. He spent much of the time in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where he worked on sculpture pieces.The bright paintings contrast sharply with the simple white marble shapes, some of which appear to be spectators, looking at the art.Ward is head of the Center for Sculpture at the University of Leeds, Bretton Hall campus, and an elected trustee of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.He talks with Shanghai Daily about his 18 drawings and marble sculptures and his aesthetic vision that combines the two genres.Q: Tell us about your works on display. What inspired you? How do they differ from your other works?A: A lot of my work has something to do with time, memory and places. I have been coming to China for eight years to make work for different reasons. I decided that I wanted to make some work that was about what I was doing now, and some work about the earliest part of my life that I can remember.The paintings are very colorful, active things while the sculptures are very still. It conveys a contrast between my childhood and my current life.Obviously, the work changes over time. For example, this is the first set of stone sculpture I have ever made. I have previously worked with steel, bronze and a lot of materials. I hope they reflect my personality.Q: Are you mixing your emotions with the marble stones? Is that a lovely experience?A: It's very easy to mix emotion with paintings, but very difficult to get some kind of emotion into a piece of stone. I hope there are some feelings inside.Q: When did your affinity with sculpture art begin? What does sculpture mean to you?A: I started in 1969, the first year of my university study. I suppose really it has just been my life. It means joy, pain, pleasure and lots of hard work, and it means you have to be very tough. I think everyone has a glamorous image of the artist, but it's really a hard job.Q: As a veteran sculptor, in your opinion, how can people really appreciate sculpture art?A: My work is made to be simple, and hopefully to express itself. I don't make art that is deliberately difficult. I hope people just respond without prejudice. Some people will respond just to color, how it is made, humor or a mixture of those ways. The response is different from different persons.Q: What's the state of sculpture art today in the UK? Are there any new trends or changes?A: Now there are lots of different types of art, not just sculpture and painting, but also installation and video. I think in the West it's very busy and active. And Chinese art has become very popular, both ancient and contemporary art. At the moment at the British Museum is an exhibition of the Terracotta Army.Q: What do you think of Chinese sculpture art, which also has a long history?A: Ancient Chinese art is incredible in many aspects. But I think contemporary Chinese art is becoming Westernized. I'm not sure whether that is a good thing. It is becoming more global. Globalization hurts everything.I have a kind of belief that the best art is made in local situations. I think the internationalization of the art market means a young person in Shanghai is making the same art as a young person in London. I think that is a little sad. I like people who have a kind of vision and work with that vision.A: I have been coming to China for eight years and I already have a collaboration with China, with lots of sweet people who are making work for me. I have done some watercolor paintings about the mountains and poetic landscapes in Guilin.In the future if I did collaborate with an artist, it would probably be a poet or a musician, rather than another sculptor or painter, because I love Chinese poetry and music. I am also very attracted by the shape of Chinese characters. They're very sculptural. I have thought maybe I can make some sculptures about the characters.I am also writing a book and doing a very big sculpture in Italy. I'm not quite sure what I am going to do after that. I have been making a lot of sculptures, maybe thinking about building a garden and putting a lot of my work there.Q: What are your plans? Is it possible that you will cooperate with Chinese artists on some new projects?