Bill Woodrow (b.1948) emerged as a pivotal figure in a new generation of British sculptors in the early 1980s, who centred on the use of found-objects and/or simple manufacturing procedures. Often using discarded or waste objects and ephemera, such as old washing machines, car parts, cutlery or scrap metal, Woodrow then cut apart and reassembled these into inventive sculptures with often illusive meanings, placing the onus of interpretation on the viewer.

In the late 1980s, Woodrow began to transition from the direct manipulation of found objects to casting works in bronze. An exceptional example of his works in bronze was the monumental sculpture made for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, Regardless of History, in 2000. He has received several honorary distinctions during his career including: representing Britain at the Biennales of Sydney in 1982, Paris in 1982 and 1985, and Sao Paulo in 1983 and 1991; he was a finalist in the Turner Prize at the Tate Gallery in London in 1986; in 1988 he won the Anne Gerber Award at the Seattle Museum of Art; he was a trustee of the Tate Galleries 1996-2001; in 2002 he was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts.