I enjoy working with river redgum especially, as its beauty comes from its irregularities and imperfections.

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The gnarly burls, dead branch hollows and broken limbs of redgum trees create giant natural bonsai.

 

It is the antithesis of a neat triangular Northern Hemisphere ‘christmas’ tree. Returning from spending time in Europe, Australian bush seems messy – but its underlying rhythm and pattern satisfies in a way foreign forests do not.

 

We live in a culture bombarded with messages idolising plastic, non-moving, inhuman silicon and botox faces and surgically crafted culturally stereotyped bodies.

 

The figure sculptures here use weather-worn aged sleepers or split, sappy and knotted timber which retain their individuality and underlying beauty. They are not filled with silicon and have not had the irregularities surgically removed. They also have no face to distract from the overall form.