2016 Heysen Sculpture Biennial Exhibition

21 February - 1 May 2016

The 2016 Heysen Sculpture Biennial exhibition was opened by Erica Green, Director of the Samstag Museum of Art. The Catalogue essay was written by Stephanie Radok.

Index of Artists

All photos by Daniel Cazzolato Photography unless stated otherwise. All artists are South Australian unless indicated otherwise.

David ATKINS, No Burning Bush 2016

The piece is a response to the renewable energy debate but, more broadly, a response to the interactions between opposing entities.

Metal, timber - 250h x 70w $4,900

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Deborah CANTRILL, It all starts with a seed, with its memory of the past and its potential for the future 2015-2016

Seeds are the archetypical beginning.

Seeds come in a vast array of forms each containing what is needed for the next generation, adapted to place and climate.

Life as we know it depends on diversity in all forms to ensure all the elements of life can survive.

Garden plants woven together using various basketry techniques. A tray containing a group of architypical 'seed' forms -

45h x 130w x 90d cm $2,800

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Ben CARROLL - Victoria

Inner Space 2016

Inner Space is about some long overdue self-reflection. When I looked within it wasn't so scary.

Recycled timber, fibreglass, steel and cast iron from old baths - 500h x 80w x 80d cm $12,500

Photo by Rick Clise

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Jan CLIFFORD, Eidolons 2015

Endless expanses of cultivated land cover much of Australia. Looking at them, we sense a loss - a regret for the missing abundance of native flora now relegated to scanty roadside remnants. The long cleared trees and scrub still haunt us. Some of them are captureed in this work.

Birch wood, twigs. Steel bases made by Ainsley Watson - 350h x 600w x 400d cm approximate group dimensions - POA

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Quentin GORE, Timber & Steel 2015-2016

My inspiration:

Author Colin Thiele made many observations about Heysen including this quotation: "I must confess, the Sun its light and warmth, is my religion."

Extract from: Hans Heysen, Artist, Conservationist, Visionary written by Helen Lyons, Trevor Curnow and Allan Campbell published by Trees Please Inc. 2003.

Up-cycled French Oak wine barrel staves and galvanised steel. Oak staves courtesy of Coriole. 2 @ 180h x 330w x 10d cm, 1 @ 180h x 270w x 10d cm - $2,200 ea, $6,400 for the set of 3

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Ian HAMILTON & John HAYWARD, Genially Modified Crop 2016

GM Crop uses humour and unlikely forms in response to contemporary environmental issues such as climate change (there's no telling what strange manifestations of plant and animal life will emerge in the future).

Wood, paper, sawdust, string, discarded technology, paint, oil - 1500w x 1500d cm - $60 per pod, $200 for 4

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Tony HANNAN, Women of Arabia 2016

A meandering passage of sticks, each stick has a name. I might forget but soon I am reminded of this anglo-centric world we live in.

When young, I travelled slowly through the middle-east, to watch, ask questions and to sit and listen

I enjoy reordering and repurposing natural materials

Eucalypt sticks, steel wire, 12mm steel rods, cloth, bricks, Alyssum - 500h x 600w x 600d cm - $1.250

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John HAYWARD, WWWeb 2016

The traditional definition of a web as the fabrication of fine threads by a spider to catch its prey, or a complex of interconnected elements perceived as a trap or danger, has become broader in recent times to include a network of information exchange and surveillance known as the internet.

Rope, resin - 600h x 600w cm $1,200

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Kon HEYER, Time Frame 2015

The inspiration for this work comes from the aged and weathered materials used. They are positioned and modelled minimally to emphasise and honour their existing qualities and features. The process is both intuitive and rational.

Discarded wood, metal and found objects - 150h x 350w x 5d cm $9,000

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Penn HOUSMANN, What the gorilla saw? 2015

Two footed, four pawed, winged or finned - our ways of being in the world are under attack. Like the gorilla we need to shift our gaze above and below, in front and behind. If our gaze remains fixed, we are lost.

Found chairs, plastic figures and glue - Chairs 100h x 45w cm $495

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Greg JOHNS, The Observers 2016

The Observers are figurative works, Australian in form. The title derives from the often amazed observation by Aboriginal people of the behaviour of incoming Europeans. The indigenous and European feel of the Heysen property makes it an appropriate venue for this work.

Mild steel - Various heights from 180 - 250cm $9,000 - $12,000 each

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David KERR, Charcoal Stack 2016

Charcoal Stack is a sculptural reference to the once ubiqitous landscape architectural feature of the haystack, and a tribute to the waning art of the charcoal burners. The purity of material and form of the haystack was once a regular art subject, often the medium of charcoal.

Charcoal sticks - 250 x 200cm (h x diameter approx) $5,000 reconstructed in a specific site)

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Max LYLE, Seeker 1 and Seeker 2 2015

Seeker 1: (left) The long detention time for asylum seekers applying fore refuge in Australia often leads to intense personal stress. The sculpture signifies the agonies of internment by using a sculptural derivation of Edvard Munch's The Scream.

Copper sheet over oak timber, scoria, steel, flint, barbed wire, copper slag - 213h x 33w x 33d cm $8,000

Seeker 2: (right) This work recalls the fate of many "Boat People" who perished during disastrous voyages. The use of the raised arm and hand symbol emphasizes the theme ('SEIV X' is an acronym used by surveillance authorities to identify a "Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel" plus number.)

Copper sheet over oak timber, scoria, steel, flint, barbed wire, copper slag - 213h x 30w x 30d cm approx. $8,000

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Carmel MARSDEN - Queensland, Natures Heart 2015 - 2016

My work is inspired by wood that has been slashed wtih a chainsaw or split with an axe. The wounds that remain on the bark and the red heart of the tree are symbolic of the passion Hans Heysen had for the Australian landscape.

Concrete coloured with oxides/acids and matt sealer reinforced with 25mm stainless steel tubing and 16mm rebar - 70h x 70w x 70d cm $2,500

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Ray MEANDERING

Sallie - domesticity 2015 - 2016

While looking at the interdependency of woman, machine and domesticity my repurposed Louvre Gallery presents discarded images as layered light and memory of place. Influenced by the domestic character of invention, I explore domesticity in Heysen's 1913 painting Sewing - intertwining domestic narratives as an ephemeral testimonial of the past.

Heat welded with plastics, wire and threads carefully positioned within the gardens of Heysen's Cedars. Sallie: 120h x 120w x 50d cm, Louvre Gallery: 124h x 450w x 15d cm. Sallie POA, Louvre Gallery $2,400 each

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Maggie MOY, Nests 2013 - 2016

I seek to highlight moments of enchantment. Collecting used and dislodged bird nests from the ground, I raise them up on stitched platforms. Installing the nests en masse I aim to engage the viewer's attention, inviting one to examine what is often overlooked.

Found bird nests, cotton thread - Variable, hanging installation POA

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Astra PARKER, Tonglen 2016

Tonglen is a contemplation on exchange; on the relationship of tive and take. What is given from one hand is received in another; returning the balance.

Corten Steel - 250h x 200w x 70d cm approx $9,500

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Flossie PEITSCH - Victoria, Ecocover Panels 2016

We claim to be very concerned about global warmrng and yet we use mostly 'Band-Aid measures' to counteract it... my Ecocover quilts are a silly conscience-soothing example of one such absurd remedy, pretending to be useful in shading the world from excess heat from the sun.

Sisalation: Builder's Insulation Wrap - 800w x 800d cm $4,000

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Ron ROWE, Tool Trees 2016

This is an on-going investigation into the nature and use of wood for tools and buildings. Early pioneers and settlers used the wood for handles on axes, rakes shovel and scythes. The Tool Trees pay homage to the variety of implements that were often handmade.

Timber, paint - 720h x 120w x 120d cm $2,200

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Fatih SEMIZ - Victoria, Transition 2012

... a moment in time...

Cast aluminium - 300h x 68w x 32d cm $19,000

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Tim THOMSON, The Seeds of My Imagination 2016

From a found object I have imagined four stages of a seed's life. Fresh nut, mature nut, spent casing and seed. The forms embrace male, female, youth, old age. Success in evolutionary terms means reproducing. The question is where?

Bronze, stainless steel, gold-leaf. 4 elements each element no larger than 60cm - $15,000

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Nicholas UHLMANN, Shelter 2016

Shelter recalls the burnt and hollowed out bole of a giant Eucalypt.

Corten steel, bitumen paint, mild steel footings - 250h x 90w x 70d cm $18,000

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Ronda WALLIS, Walking/Thinking - Found 2015 - 2016

This work is collectively named Found but separately named Majeed, Gholam, Bemnet, Laila and Asif.

Struggle, hope, and desire to connect have a shared thread.

My thanks to Glenelg Engineering for their advice

Timber, MDF, stainless steel, perspex, USB cords, handmade paper, Primal AC-3000R, spent bullet casings, Megapoxy, Solacryl Paint, Forminex Formarine, rubber, reflective aluminium, copper, electrical components. - 5 pieces, 30h x 30w x 40d cm on 'legs' approximately at 1.3 metres $2,700

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Clancy WARNER, Upon Reflection 2016

Looking at the world with eyes of introspection, looking within and reflecting upon nature and the self. A vessel of reclaimed objects, once discarded, transformed from waste to beauty; recreated and renewed.

Reclaimed wood, cast aluminiumm, resin and steel - 60h x 150w x 35d cm $3,200

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Lorry WEDDING-MARCHIORO, Touch 2016

Touch is an interactive light and sound installation which responds to the presence of the viewer. It is inspired by recent research into Quantum Physics and the Observer Effect. With this work, I am seeking to evoke the sense of play that often gets forgotten about when we become adults.

LEDs, copper, steel- 180h x 30w x 30d cm 2 pieces $5,500

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Margaret WORTH - Artist, Helen HERBERT - Poet, Out of Ashes 2015

Commemorating a dear friend and colleague, celebrated through art as the transformation of ordinary things into the extraordinary. Things which had been laid aside or discarded have been recreated as joy in life. Her life inspires new works and connections - an enduring legacy.

Poetry - Helen Herbert

Wood ash, rusted steel, discarded plastic and metal- 220h x variable width x 100d cm $7,890

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Zed ZEIMER - Victoria, Scillta 2016

Natural re-occuring patterns contrast with a minimalist form. These elements are bound together by light and the natural cycles illustrated in the use of recycled materials.

Recycled mild steel, recycled timber - 125h x 100w x 100d cm $5,750

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