The Alchemy of the Discarded In the quiet corners of Oxfordshire, near Henley-on-Thames, a story began in 1948 that would eventually transform the very nature of British sculpture. Bill Woodrow did not seek out marble or fine clay; instead, his eyes were drawn to the overlooked remnants of a changing society. During his formative years at Winchester College of Art, St. Martin’s, and Chelsea, he developed a way of seeing that turned the debris of London streets into something entirely new. He wandered through scrap yards and skips, gathering the bones of consumer culture—car bonnets, washing m…