August 6 - September 3, 2022
front gallery - installation view
front gallery - installation view
front gallery - installation view
back gallery - installation view
back gallery - installation view
We’ve all picked up feathers at the beach and wondered at their lightness, their colour and their form. Flight feathers tend to be leaner, down feathers softer and more generous in their contour. They have been a recurrent motif in Neil Dawson’s long career as a sculptor. In this exhibition of new work, two sculptural forms co-exist: feathers made of polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic; and ripples in water cast in polyester resin. This relationship is delicate, exciting and transitory – poised, or in balance, as the exhibition title equipoise suggests. The sense of equilibrium varies with each piece. Once the ripple is fixed to the wall, the degree of overlap (or the amount it can be seen through each feather’s veins) can be changed, as can the angle of the feather itself, depending upon the contingencies of wall, viewer and site. Shadows can also be dramatic with these works – the play of light between the arc of each quill, then through each feather’s veins to the wall, along with their rich painted finishes, feels both exuberant and playful.
There is a very real, positive presence to these sculptures in the front gallery, whilst in the back gallery, Dawson toys with lightness and near-absence. Two sandblasted polycarbonate down feathers are suspended, tantalizingly balanced in space. They spin very slowly and quietly, close to one another. Down Up, and Up Down have veins that vibrate and tremble – sometimes doubled up both visually and physically to create a delightful suspense. They move with a beautiful smile.
JS
equipoise #1
equipoise #2
equipoise #3
equipoise #4
equipoise #5
equipoise #6
equipoise #7
equipoise #8
Up Down, Down Up
2022
painted polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic
feather approx 1850mm; installation variable
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
painted polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic
feather approx 1850mm; installation variable
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
painted polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic
feather approx 1850mm; installation variable
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
painted polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic
feather approx 1850mm; installation variable
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
painted aluminium & acrylic
feather approx 1850mm; installation variable
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
painted polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic
feather approx 1850mm; installation variable
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
painted polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic
feather approx 1850mm; installation variable
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
painted polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic
feather approx 1850mm; installation variable
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
polycarbonate, painted aluminium & acrylic
1960 x 780 x 420mm
Exhibited in
equipoise
2022
polycarbonate, painted aluminium & acrylic
1960 x 780 x 420mm
Exhibited in
equipoise