Bethell produces constructed wooden sculptures that often represent a makeshift working machine. These exist in neither the past nor the present, they exist within both. There’s a slip. And as such, the machines sometimes derive from both the imaginative and real world a like. Narratives are formed from the history and the topology of a space that constantly change the material when worked. The act of man is a test of the material and himself.

As the object or constructed object can not commit to its original form it 'becomes' the making of a journey, by the ware n tear of the landscape and the act of man. There is a 'will' to bend it beyond its capabilities. There is a sense of futility to the artist and material. Questioning the reliance of the crude and crafted technology and endurance of the artist. With this notion of change something can be viewed differently, something can have a sense of becoming, becoming something beyond its own expectation.  A test of our ambitions and imagination are measured against the limitations of a space and material, often resulting in failed attempts and sense of disbelief, with odd chance of success and hope thrown in. 
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