Wild/Mild
One of the aspects in the invite is a comment that I enjoy playing with language ( and I do eg Good hair day) but it got me thinking what I could do with the words of "on the wild side" itself. I guess the obvious presented itself and wild /Mild is the result (change the first letter of the sculpture if you haven’t noticed!) This is part of a degree of interactivity that most of my piece have. In most cases sculpture cries out to be handled and this one is certainly handleable. ( You can’t break it if you drop it! Not sure about your toes!)
Butterfly Girl
I was doing lots of ideas for the Up exhibition and the idea of a girl with wings came up. I think I saw an image promoting a Jazz festival and they had two butterfly girls standing on either side of the titles. I immediately thought that I could make a flying girl and went at it.
I had a look on the net for images to put with this write up and there were lots and lots so it seems to have resonance in our culture. I thought about fairies and how they are commonly depicted as girls with wings( although in folk lore this is uncommon!) and I guess there was some flow through of the wildness of that idea too. I think she fits the exhibition and I love the way she flies!
Carvolve
I have seen flying cars all my life and it seems like a real staple of cartoons and movies. I once thought that flying super heroes flapped their wings and took off. I was set right on this case and every flying car I have seen seems to follow the plane / superhero model ( see above) and it certainly seems "cooler" but perhaps not quite explainable by the laws of physics we live by at the moment.
My car is captured mid flap and I like the idea of a car that flaps its way along like a bird. Has it evolved or devolved ? I don’t know but its wild enough for me!
Yee Ha"
This bird has an added burden but doesn’t seem to mind. I looked at "Drawn" the website earlier in the year and there was an image of a child straddling the neck of a bird as it flew. for this exhibition I took this inspiration with a minor touch of Dr Strangelove ( watch the movie if you don’t understand!) and I quite like the joy of this composition. As I looked at the internet for images to accompany this I see there are quite a few pieces out there with a similar idea. However, I’ll stay with mine.! Yee ha!!
What have you got
In thinking of things that were wild of course the old Marlon Brando movie "the Wild One" came to mind. In one scene He is asked what are you protesting about and his reply is "What have you got". MY protester comes from a slightly later time and I have combined this idea with the comment that" the artist is the mirror of society " and hence he is carrying a mirror. I think he is "wild" enough!
Worry
Wild? Well to get into this situation is a bit wild. I had this idea before the exhibition and I really wanted to do it. It again, sort of links to "caged" in that it can be interpreted as about perceptions. I love the questions it raises. Why has he chosen to sit under there? How much of our worries are self imposed? Are those poles going to hold or is he really quite safe as the poles are much stronger than they appear? In some ways it also has links to the flying pieces where seemingly heavy characters are supported by a simple wire. How much different is this from a world which has concrete yachts and planes that weigh tons. We trust so much and most of the time it is rewarded.
Devolution
Another bird form, but this time I have developed a piece from a sketch I saw somewhere. The whole idea of "streamlined" as developed over the last 50 or so years is thrown out and a new genetically engineered box bird is created( similar to how SUV’s have developed!) I think he is quite wild and although simple he has a gentle charm although I suspect his nest might be a bit different too!
Freestyle
As an older person one of the aspects of life we see as being a bit wild is skaters. This is almost a contradiction to the comment that many of us make" I wish they would get off that computer and go and do something outside." Picking flowers maybe?
I had wanted to do a skater for a while as most of the movements associated with this sport are so fluid and graceful. I must admit that skating is not part of what I can do and balance is not something I possess a lot of in my body. However , many of my students have been able to do this wonderfully and I can appreciate their skill in the same way I can appreciate a ballet dancer. Very impressive.
Behind the curtain
The exhibition is called the on the wild side and this piece plays with the notion that where ever you are the other side is the wild side. Sometimes they say the grass is always greener on the other side but often we are a bit apprehensive about what is on the other side of the fence, wall, curtain etc. On the other side of the curtain is where the show starts or where the murderer hides or where we shut out the outside.
Both my characters have their own side but of course are interested in what is on the other side "the wild side".
This is just a little piece I did because I was fascinated by the pose. The
original sketch looked much more fluid but she has turned out ok