Corio Bay With Marker

My final 'hammer n' nail' painting. Great fun putting these four works together they really helped to free me up but now its time to move on.

Corio Bay with Marker  Acrylic and black japan on masonite and card  66x90cm  2009

Buoys Marking

I am not sure about where my work is taking me but I am really engaged with it and enjoying myself. My head is also swimming with new directions and concepts - really good feeling to have - just need more time in the studio.

Buoys Marking  Acrylic, black Japan, brass nails, card & timber  60x60cm  2009

Corio Bay - Low Relief Constructions

These small wall mounted sculptures are influenced by Corio Bay in Geelong. They suggest sails, hulls of ships, markers and horizon lines. Corio Bay is an absolute gem an awesome body of water that has given me so much over my life.

Installation of 4 works

Black Marker  Acrylic on Timber  20x15cm  2009

Green Hull  Acrylic on Timber  20x15cm  2009

The Bay  Acrylic on Timber  20x15cm  2009

Sail  Acrylic on Timber  20x15cm  2009

Public Sculpture Commission - City of Greater Geelong

Connecting identities is a three year arts project currently underway in the City of Greater Geelong. It aims to create links between the people and places of Geelong, expressing what is important to them. It consists of three main projects - Memory Bank (connecting to our memories of Geelong), Mouth To Mountain (connecting to our land) and M2M (connecting to our songline). Please visit www.geelongaustralia.com.au/connectingidentities for more information and images.

The City of Greater Geelong is divided into twelve Wards. My involvement is to construct a sculpture that 'represents' the Ward of  Kardinia which is mostly the suburb of Belmont and sections of Highton and Grovedale. Another eleven artists are involved each making a sculpture for the other Wards.

How does a sculptural work encompass the depth of history, social complexities and physical environment of an entire suburb? Quite a challenge!

I have met with a representational group of residents from the Ward and from this developed a broader grasp of the sentiment and passion locals have for their home. The idea of Kardinia Ward being home was my strongest impression from the group. I grew up in the Ward and my parents, other family and friends live there and I am also teaching part time at Belmont High School. My own personal attachment to the Ward was also aroused and I am very enthusiastic about this project.

The sculpture needs to be somewhat portable, around one metre in height and has to house a torpedo shaped bottle of water. It will be used in the Mouth To Mountain 24hr event and then exhibited at City Hall and later within the Kardinia Ward.

My working drawings need to be completed by late February 2009 and presented to the working group. They will also be on public display sometime in March. As I begin to make some headway into the project I will post them up on the blog.

Below are some images of the sculpture during its construction. The sculpture is structurally complete but needs painting and detailing.

These are images of the completed sculpture taken in my studio. I will post up some images of the sculpture within the context of the Mouth to Mountain event soon.

'Tempio' Sculptures

The Italian art movement Arte Povera really intrigues me. Quite literally it means 'poor art' or maybe the idea of using 'poor'/'non art' media. Artists of the movement intentionally used everyday simple found objects, materials and the environment reconfiguring and manipulating these to add meaning, content and purpose.


These simple sculptures are made from cheap and discarded timber (packaging radiata pine and cypress pine off cuts). They are representations of the human body and the sense in which the physical human body houses something even more profound within its walls.


They expose the thought that even though our bodies decay and will come to an end our spirit and soul endure forever. The external facades also hide that which dwells within. The use of gold and copper in contrast to the iron ore paint also hint at the precious and the decaying.


Tempio I and II are currently on exhibition at Linden Gallery in St Kilda, Melbourne as part of the annual Linden Postcard Show Exhibition http:www.lindenarts.org/






 

Tempio I Acrylic on Timber 15 x 15(w) x 30(h)cm 2008 



Tempio IV Acrylic on Timber 15 x 15(w) x 35(h)cm 2008 



Tempio II Acrylic on Timber 15 x 18(w) x 30(h)cm 2008 

2008 Toorak Village Festival of Sculpture

Monument I & II  Acrylic on Timber 2008  SOLD

Monument I & II  Acrylic on Timber 2008  SOLD

Monument II  Acrylic on Timber 2008  SOLD

Monument IV & III  Acrylic on Timber 2008  SOLD

I have been tentatively getting back into my sculpture over the last year. I actually majored in sculpture at university and am really excited about making moves back in this direction.

In 2008 I was accepted into the 2008 Toorak Village Festival of Sculpture http://www.tooraksculpture.com.au/ which was a very rewarding experience. I entered these small works in the show.

These sculptures were exploring the idea of monuments to the past. They encased or supported monuments to the last of the trees and other organic forms. I suppose an environmental concern underlies each one of them but I was also interested in them working aesthetically with a stark beauty or intrigue of their own.