Heartwood

1994

Passage Series: Private collection, Auckland.

The title Heartwood referenced the material removed from within each panel during the making of Stem. I saved each small section as I cut the macrocarpa panels, and joined the moving pieces using screw-eyes and fine wire and assistance from several students. The completed work Heartwood was floated in a local river. The image of that first floating work changed my thinking and approach to sculpture, and led to my awareness and intrigue in the micro-sphere, in cells, viruses and micro-organisms.

The following year I received a grant from Creative New Zealand to make works on the theme of Past Migrations to Aotearoa. The grant enabled me to dedicate several months to research, experimental play and fabrication as the floating sculptures evolved. I used Anne Salmond's Two Worlds to reference and inform the works, and combined the dual themes migration of virus with past migrations to Aotearoa.

Crucial to the content and intention of these works is the selection of location for photographic documentation. By the time the Passage works were exhibited in the gallery space, each had its own floating and performance history.

I included with this exhibition a small, photocopied artists book, Echoes, that explored the Octavio Paz poem, The Broken Waterjar, some lines from which I had embossed onto the works.

Dimensions: Diameter 900mm x Depth 30mm.

Materials: Macrocarpa, beeswax, copper and brass wire.

Collection of the artist.