I believe we are at a point in time where we are about to take a quantum leap in consciousness. It is essential. The way that things are on the planet can’t continue like this and I feel that if each of us begins at home with ourselves with our own transformation we may have a chance of bringing this much-needed sense of oneness to our planet once again.
After more than 10 years of collecting beach found objects and subsequently making art out of them, I’ve naturally come now to a new form of expression, which was brought on significantly as a result of the decrease in litter either washing up or being left behind on our beaches, as well as a result of my purge painting series and exploration.
In many ways because there is much less plastics on the beaches around where I live these days, I have also naturally moved on. I began working with recycled plastic bags, painting seascapes of the beaches I walked so many years collecting rubbish off and lately, working with recycled dead trees.
So in one sense yes, in my case consumption has encouraged artistic expression. I am not the only one, there are many more like me who are making successful comments on today’s consumerist society in various ways and mediums.
Exposure to international art in London and Europe, in the early eighties, encouraged me to pursue my career as an artist. One defining moment was experienced at the Tate Gallery in London, 1981. In a gallery space devoted to Mark Rothko, the American abstract expressionist, I experienced the depth of and commitment in his work. The exhibition moved me to tears, and provided a level of inspiration that I had not experienced until that point. Another Rothko piece (from a different period), seen several years later while visiting the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, filled me with the same feeling of understanding.
This also has correlation with mankind today on some levels, as we see that those people who live reasonably affluent lives, are generally more inclined to appreciate art and are more likely the kind of people who do not wish to live without art. It seems all through history it has been like this, with the more wealthy elements in our society appreciating and fostering artistic endeavours.
This sculpture was made from the trunk and root ball of a Camphor Laurel tree and, was made over a 2-year period between 2008 and mid 2010. It began with my receiving a call from a local eco farmer who knew my work. He told me he had a gift for me if I wanted it. I could do what I liked with it.
It is not necessary for all artists to have to experience such a dramatic incident as having a fire in a studio to bring about a major change in their outlook on life. Some artists instinctively do this simply in the process of their work in the studio. This is just how it happened from there and it left an indelible imprint, which has continued to this day.
My entrée into environmental artwork was not my first shift in media and style. I began my artistic life as a figurative painter, attracted to that form of expression for its narrative qualities. During art school I had moved from figurative paintings to more abstract work.
My art school days were exciting right from the start. I met many amazing people, both students and lecturers. I created deep friendships and as fate would have it, I ended up in a five-year tumultuous relationship with the very same young woman that I met in the cafe the year before. Her name was Barbara and she was beautiful. Just what a young man fresh out of the confines of a four-year stint at an all boys boarding school needed.
My teenage years were mostly centered on my various infatuations with girls and my adventures with my friends on surfing safaris, or surfaris as we called them. I imagine this connection with the ocean, which I developed as a child, later had a strong impact upon the type of art I would end up creating.
As a young artist, I was fortunate enough to interact with many people who played a significant role in shaping the Australian contemporary art world.
Although one of my favourite places to exhibit is in New York, I also love to show in many places on the international stage. I’ve been accustomed to exhibiting my art in many places other than my home country Australia, because of a number of reasons. I believe the primary reason is because of my work being different from standard practice.
Exhibiting in China comes with a necessity to learn what is known as the “Chinese way”. This is the way that has been taught to me by a very good friend of mine who is a Chinese businessman.
Research the gallery, find out who is the director, and write a letter of introduction with details about your website, if you have one, and include a CD, though these days I think it’s preferable to send some good quality photographs as well.
One of the first things that I’d recommend for an artist when they’re contacting a gallery for the first time is to never do it cold.
In presenting to the community my rationale behind the recycled sculptural piece “The Guardian”, beginning with the briefing notes that this large-scale work was to use road infrastructure, that would otherwise be discarded which needed to be robust to be set in trees by the highway and to be highly visible in this location and also lit at night.
This particular work was in response to a brief from the Brisbane City Council, who decided that a public artwork would be appropriate for the entrance to Kangaroo Point, which is a small suburb in inner-city Brisbane. It was to receive a new traffic intersection and entrance without the traffic lights, that had been slowing down this particular entrance for a number of years.
The answer to this would have to involve my public art projects.
In terms of their success, I would most likely look towards two larger ones as being standouts. In this regard the ‘Absolut Dahlsen’ commission alongside the ‘Guardian’ commission are the two of my most favourite projects.
We don’t need to revert to becoming cavemen again, however we do need to safeguard our future by planning to become more natural in every way. This will be the future of our cities, where all of our freshwater is captured from the buildings and our electricity will be generated from renewable sources such as solar and wind.
The term environmental sculpture is variously defined. A development of the art of the 20th century, environmental sculpture usually creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figuratively or monumentally before the viewer.
