Uncategorized

A hollow structure crowned with abstract, gargoyle-like forms, this work explores ideas surrounding the intersection of the practical and the spiritual. The sandy finish of the work mimics an ossified creature or a tool from previous generations, yet the gargoyle-like forms suggest a surreal spiritual device. Gargoyles traditionally play a dual role, that of caretaker, providing the practical function of clearing water from a building and that of spiritual warden, protecting a building and its inhabitants from evil spirits. The intriguing physical form of the gargoyle is an additional and unintentional by-product that does not address either function. The piece confronts the idea that a by-product that does not address an intended function can be a compelling characteristic of a functional object. This piece interrogates whether an object needs to be justified by a practical or spiritual function or whether it needs to be justified at all.

Conulariid 55 x 35 cm, reclaimed piano parts from defunct pianos, currently on show at the Reimagine Art Prize at Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre in Hornsby, NSW This work is now on show as part of the Reimagine Art Prize in Hornsby, NSW Made using defunct piano parts, this work reuses and repurpose waste, to explore the mystery of trying to reconstruct the past through surviving relics. Conulariids are a little-understood fossil group, thought to be related to Jellyfish.  Conulariids are now extinct, and all that scientists have to try to understand how these animals lived is their fossils. This work is an imagined form, inspired by the idea of Conulariids. The use of defunct pianos as the primary material for this work was an attempt to incorporate more recycled and repurposed resources in my work. For an earlier “Conulariid” shown in Sculpture by the Sea (Sculptures Inside) I used a piano action found in the verge. Thanks to Pianos Recycled for donating the piano actions for this Conulariid.

Thank you to the City of Melbourne for funding me with a Covid 19 Quick Response Grant. In amongst the delirium of isolation I have been busy creating a video which will premiere online with an accompanying artists talk in mind-June. Please stay posted as anyone in the world will be able to attend this online event.