Cranium

The sculptural works in Cranium offer multiple narratives. Clusterings of characters set amongst quasi-architectural elements (such as the archway which acts as portal, tunnel or frame, depending on the viewer's interpretation) form loosely suggestive scenarios: some playful, some humorous, others fearful. While one person may feel a hint of mockery when confronted by a sculpture of a two-faced ogre, another may experience the sensation of being beckoned by a lonely pair of lovers locked within a rotting tree stump, victims of a cruel and unjust spell. The sculptural forms, beings situated within a particular physical space, evoke open-ended narratives, a variable multiplicity of meanings.

Through repetition, these forms instill in the observer sensations both intimate and alienating. By creating multiples as individual landed objects, while not suggesting a shared uniformity, Bowles seeks to draw out and distill their characteristics through colour, their placement within the installation and through individual detailing. Searching for formal deviation or a mar in duplication only draws the viewer ever closer into their world.

Pen and ink drawings float unobtrusively on the walls: a sun emanating wood-grain rays, vibrations of forms, and land masses. Portrayed in semi-abstract application, these drawings form a backdrop, providing a ground upon which the sculptural forms exist. In addition to these, and as a formal element in this show, three framed portraits of characters from Cranium hang in honour of family lineage and with respect to ancestral memory.

One hand throws the sun into the heavens
The alternate foot plants roots below the dirt
A free hand nests a world of cawing ravens
Last limb keeps with the rhythm of our heart

Amy Bowles



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