This is a small 8x27x6 sculpture called Nutted Out 2 that I made in December 2016 at my home studio. It is created nuts and bobbypins, which I mounted on a grey ceramic tile, then on a thick black painted plywood board. I found all these bits and pieces on the streets of Melbourne during my daily walks.
Although I created some representational works during 2016 and 2017, the majority were more abstract or geometrical. They often juxtaposed different types of found objects, such as nuts and bobby pins, or cream chargers and hair clips.
My palette during this time was essentially silver-coloured, rust-coloured, wood grain and black, so I was fascinated with the subtle range of variations in scratches, patina and sheen of the objects I found. Many of the metal pieces had turned a fine shade of rust from months or years on the street before I ‘rescued’ them. A few of the nuts in this work fall into the ‘aesthetically rusted’ category.
This work can sit flat on a desk to look down on, or on its side on a shelf or mantel to look at. Hopefully, it will remind those who see it of the 5Rs to help our planet: Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle.
