Steel was employed as a ‘new’ material for sculpture in the 1950’s. The material was seen as having the capacity to travel through space and expand beyond a centre, that sculpture had moved around.
Recently sculpture has forgotten that innovation and has moved back to having a centre. Sculpture, despite its relative openness has become introspective.
The Reach reminds us of sculpture’s ability to open out, without losing its ability to hold its unity, harmony and clarity.
The Reach seeks to get back to scratch, to start again, even if the ground has been largely explored. The sculpture asks, is there any more?
Our brief as sculptors is to keep the sculptural conversation going and not succumb to the benefits of signature expressions, tempting as they are.
The Reach at Wamboin
The Reach is a compilation of different sculptures and elements.
A 1981 sculpture on the left side of the image above is joined to a 2016 sculpture on the right by four arcs, which bounce off a grounding beam in the centre.
The work is an accidental autobiography.
The hole in the plate (as seen by Darrall Thompson)
Through the square plate at one end of the sculpture, there is hole where you can view where the sculpture is headed . That hole is also a rear view window.