17. David Hamilton - highly commended
New Forest
Silicon Bronze
18 50 15
$4,600
WEB LINK www.davidhamiltonsculpture.com
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Artist Statement about the work
This sculpture proposes a cautionary speculation about a future Tasmanian environment in which the shades of green of the original forest landscape are replaced by a new forest of red brick and concrete.
The boat form is used both as a metaphor for Tasmania and as the vehicle that has brought disproportionate environmental change. Since settlement, unrelenting urbanisation devours and removes the original tree cover, replacing it with a new forest of brick and concrete where isolated specimens of the original trees are reshaped and consigned as memorials to a past lost.
About the Artist
David Hamilton was born and educated in Hobart, Tasmania. For 30 years until 2002 he was Head of Sculpture at the University of Tasmania in Launceston. He presently works as a full time practicing artist and during 2011 completed a PhD titled Fragments: Beyond the Object. David’s practice includes sculpture, installation, drawing and digital media. His particular area of specialisation is metal casting as well as working in steel and wood, sometimes in combination. Throughout his career David has frequently used his art as a tool for political commentary often related to the loss of Tasmania's native old growth forests. This theme was brought out in an installation constructed from wood chips at Spring Bay Mill as part of 2015 Ten Days Festival. A 2016 residency at the Cité Internationale des Artes in Paris renewed his interest in the object as vector for the narrative.
Click here for the 2017 Finalist's index Click here for the next finalist Click here for the previous finalist
Silicon Bronze
18 50 15
$4,600
WEB LINK www.davidhamiltonsculpture.com
Click here for the 2017 Finalist's index Click here for the next finalist Click here for the previous finalist
Artist Statement about the work
This sculpture proposes a cautionary speculation about a future Tasmanian environment in which the shades of green of the original forest landscape are replaced by a new forest of red brick and concrete.
The boat form is used both as a metaphor for Tasmania and as the vehicle that has brought disproportionate environmental change. Since settlement, unrelenting urbanisation devours and removes the original tree cover, replacing it with a new forest of brick and concrete where isolated specimens of the original trees are reshaped and consigned as memorials to a past lost.
About the Artist
David Hamilton was born and educated in Hobart, Tasmania. For 30 years until 2002 he was Head of Sculpture at the University of Tasmania in Launceston. He presently works as a full time practicing artist and during 2011 completed a PhD titled Fragments: Beyond the Object. David’s practice includes sculpture, installation, drawing and digital media. His particular area of specialisation is metal casting as well as working in steel and wood, sometimes in combination. Throughout his career David has frequently used his art as a tool for political commentary often related to the loss of Tasmania's native old growth forests. This theme was brought out in an installation constructed from wood chips at Spring Bay Mill as part of 2015 Ten Days Festival. A 2016 residency at the Cité Internationale des Artes in Paris renewed his interest in the object as vector for the narrative.
Click here for the 2017 Finalist's index Click here for the next finalist Click here for the previous finalist