phases

image by Dave Macquart

phases was installed in forecourt of the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Nowra NSW in June 2022. The work makes comment about the phases that we share our lives with and holds in its colours a reminder of the essential role photosynthesis plays in the cycles of life: from the green of leaves to blue of sky and the orange of sun. The work appears to turn as you move past it.

phases was launched during the reConnections event, click on the read more link below to read my talk…

Installed near the sculpture is a statement about the work:

Our lives flow as a consequence of numerous phases… the moon, the seasons, the arc of the sun, the arc of our lives.

The structure of the work phases in and out of solid form as the viewer moves around the work, from a seed form to a form reminding us of a tree; the fullness of the convex shapes transitioning into a concave container shape… Depending from which side you view this, the relationship is inverted – a reminder that your point of view reveals a certain perspective but it is never the only perspective – the person on the other side will see it differently.

The colours of the work transition from lime green to blue to orange: new leaf green to sky blue to orange sun, a reminder of the nature we live with (the nature that ensures our life): green leaves photosynthesise sun energy under a blue sky heavy with the air-borne nutrients a plant needs (CO2 and nitrogen) to thrive and contribute to soil, and the sun herself, in direct relation to us through her connection to plants.

phases is an invitation to remember that nothing is fixed, that our current perspective may not be all that there is; it is a reminder that we are always transitioning; and it is in this capacity for change (to transition into further understandings) that we hold the fullness of life.

public talk at the launch of phases @ ReConnections 5 June 2022

Thanks every one for being here to celebrate the launch of my sculpture phases into the commons, for that is the role of a public sculpture: my job as artist is now done, now the artwork falls out of my hands into your hands, the hands and heart of the community in which the sculpture is placed, for each person in the community to take ownership of the sculpture, for you each to value it in your own way.

But as I make this handover I want to speak of three things: phases, perspectives, reconnections.

Phases:
this sculpture, named phases, speaks of how phases intersect with our lives and are an integral part of our lives and we are part of them; most phases – maybe all – are cyclic – they go around and around again spiralling in time.

The phases of a life be it an insect, a plant, or ourselves define our lives: birth, childhood, adulthood, perhaps parenthood, grandparent hood, and for all of us death… a time where each atom in our bodies transition to become something else… a tree, a possum, a crab… and so the cycle continues.

Perspectives:
as you may have already experienced the sculpture takes on many forms as you move around it, a reminder that our perspective informs us and each viewpoint reveals different things. Our perspective will alter our ability to see all of what is there… this quality in the sculpture is intended to be an invitation to be curious about alternative views and maybe change the vantage point from which we are looking out from… to take step in life to the left or the right, up or down…

Reconnections:
the title o fthis event reConnections has a lot to do with the intention of phases – it is a call to each of us to remember where we come from: no matter where we are heading we are nature… We rely on the phases, the cycles, of nature to grow our food, to clean our air, to cycle our water despite our wizzbang human-made technology and speed at which we go through life.

As Richard Powers so beautifully wrote in his book The Overstory “our future is thanks to the … generosity of green things” and to this end I hope that this sculpture will carry that message so I would like to encourage you to grow organic vegetables, grow a wild garden, plant a forest in your back yard, cover all bare ground with green things (even weeds!), make a stand for trees and grasslands, and wild places… the future of our planet rests with the mysterious generosity of green things.

… the colours used in phases are about this very thing as you can read on the sign placed near the work.

As I finish up I want to express my thanks to a few people: Bronwyn Coulston for believing in me and my work and steering this project through the last 2 years, Karen Patterson for supporting this project all the way and Event Engineering, especially Isabella, for navigating the fabrication and installation during a very difficult time… some of you might have seen the work sitting in the middle of a swimming pool for a few weeks as we waited for the rain to stop.

And to each of you: Thanks for being here as phases passes into the commons and for accepting the role of custodian.

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