By Jed Lanyon
YAVA’s newest exhibition features the work of Ian George, a local timber sculptor who is showcasing his woodworks of underwater life.
TIDAL opened on Friday 5 March and features 38 pieces of Mr Gerorge’s work, described as “amazing” by YAVA CEO Kate Baker.
“I have to say the display of work looks incredible… This particular series is inspired by water life because Ian liked to go diving,” she said.
Mr George’s exhibition plays with the concepts of gravity, movement and tension in a way that leaves the viewer in wonder.
“For me, it’s about the shapes. The fact that they are sea creatures is kind of incidental, but they are interestingly abstract shapes themselves,” Mr George said. “I liked the tentacles and the waving element and things moving in the sea and then contrasting that with shells and those hard sharp shapes.
“The theme is a bit odd for being out in a country town, we’re a fair way away from the sea.
“I’m a great believer in the beauty in crafting things. It always annoys me a little bit that modern art has moved away from the idea of craft. Not that there’s anything wrong with the ideas behind modern art, but I like that idea of crafting and the skill that it’s taken to create something.
“I like to create things that show a certain amount of skill and the beauty and elegance of movement within them. I’m hoping people can basically enjoy what they’re looking at. Enjoy the shapes, enjoy what they’re seeing and enjoy the craft that has gone into them.”
Mr George’s works are all unpainted and feature a clear finish.
“I like to let the timber speak for itself,” he said. “There’s a beauty in the timber that needs to be expressed as part of this. I like the idea of the random chance element that comes with this.
“You cut into a piece of timber and you never know what’s going to be in it. My manta ray piece has these big voids in it and when I was cutting through it I found these big bark inclusions and you work out how you’re going to work them into the piece or you accept there is going to be an element of chance with the piece as well.”
Mr George worked as a media studies teacher at a high school before using his long-service leave to focus on his craft from the end of 2019 and eventually retiring. He joked that he was lucky to miss out on teaching remotely throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
He spent the last 17 years working with timber and was set on the path of sculpting it after his son, four at the time, asked him to create a sword.
“Being a sculptor I got a bit carried away and made this sword with wavy edges that had quite a barbarian or aisan look to it. I made it at the school because I had all the equipment there and then all the students there wanted their own.
“They wanted to make their own. We spent quite a few years making swords in classes and they loved it. That’s how I got into sculptural wood.”
Mr George said most of the timber he works with is Australian, with the exception of a few exotic pieces.
“A lot of it is salvaged timber. So quite a bit of this timber is from trees that have fallen on the property I used to own or things that have been salvaged from places.
“I’m not particularly interested in using timbers that require high levels of damage to the environment.”
TIDAL is exhibiting at YAVA from 5 March to 4 April. For more information, visit: https://www.yava.org.au/
