I chose to use the buddha as subject as it has a universal undersanding and whilst having a form and shape that is instantly recognisable is a form made up of many parts and my versions of buddha embrace using the everyday familiar object that we all use and covet during our lifetimes i have then engaged these items in a process which asks the audience to re-evaluate their position with a throwaway lifestyle.
Materiality sometimes evokes censure, but it is sometimes a celebration. In other words, the use of material makes the viewer consider and re-align its suitability, purpose and above all, actual worth. These works admit the fascination of material objects, but they ask us to question the depth and consistency of our values.
The works illustrated admit and celebrate the fact that our culture is locked into commodities, and they also admit that not even the good iconoclasm of Marcel Duchamp could deliver the artist from sharing this fate. The irony is that it is those who were involved with art and its institutions, contextualised the readymade in the gallery, brought Duchamp into the Pantheon of 20C Art, and by doing so effectively isolated and neutralised the power of the readymade object.
left; 1995-2003 a bronze buddha which has then painstakingly been repainted to simualte its original make up of ornaments, bric a brac jewells and other household paraphanalia
middle; 2007-2011 a cast in paper which is then smothered in gold and the residues of running recycled household paints
right; 2009-10 a recent version of buddha incorperating a wealth of ornamentation, recycled objects and toys.
Materiality sometimes evokes censure, but it is sometimes a celebration. In other words, the use of material makes the viewer consider and re-align its suitability, purpose and above all, actual worth. These works admit the fascination of material objects, but they ask us to question the depth and consistency of our values.
The works illustrated admit and celebrate the fact that our culture is locked into commodities, and they also admit that not even the good iconoclasm of Marcel Duchamp could deliver the artist from sharing this fate. The irony is that it is those who were involved with art and its institutions, contextualised the readymade in the gallery, brought Duchamp into the Pantheon of 20C Art, and by doing so effectively isolated and neutralised the power of the readymade object.
left; 1995-2003 a bronze buddha which has then painstakingly been repainted to simualte its original make up of ornaments, bric a brac jewells and other household paraphanalia
middle; 2007-2011 a cast in paper which is then smothered in gold and the residues of running recycled household paints
right; 2009-10 a recent version of buddha incorperating a wealth of ornamentation, recycled objects and toys.