El Nino (1998)

Artist's Statement

"Transgressions?": The exhibition consisted of eight large installations and sculptures by me with individual photographic interpretations by photographers Val Adamson and Barry Downard. Val Adamson photographed my works in appropriate outdoor and indoor environments and Barry Downard focused on making viewers more aware of detailed aspects of the works by producing enlarged computer-enhanced photographs of different sections of the sculptures.

In this exhibition I was exploring what we are carrying forward from the past and present into the new Millennium, both positively and negatively, and the works reflect global issues such as AIDs, El Nino, pollution, energy, war, poaching of large endangered mammals, computers and space travel. The base materials for the sculptures consisted of discarded industrial waste from factories that is used in the manufacture of functional fibre products. I chose this medium for its visual appeal and because plastic is a 20th Century invention which has impacted positively and negatively on our planet.

"The hottest July for 120 years has scientists steamed up: Scientists remain divided on the phenomenon's cause - El Nino weather, pollution and Mother Nature lead the pack. Al Gore has blamed pollution: "Scientists say we are warming the planet and unless we act we can expect even more extreme weather, more heat waves, more flooding, more powerful storms and droughts" (SAPA AFP The Mercury September 1998)