~ Louise McRae
New Zealand, (b. 1968)
After many years with a strong reputation as a painter ~ Louise McRae made the move to sculpture around two years ago ~ with truly remarkable results
The current series uses collapsing material to play with soft & hard. What appears super soft is in fact very heavy and hard. The mechanics of the viewers experience can be fun too. One can see the energy and immediacy of my making captured in the piece which adds a performative element in the work. Playing with the viewer via a loop, drawing people in with colour, texture and the illusion of softness , letting them out while they question what is, then drawing them back with the fun, funny aspect, can add a performative aspective to the viewers experience Even if it unconscious. It is my hope the experience of viewing reflects how the work itself operates. I love satirical comedy and the ‘fun-ness’ aspect of the work allows me to use humour and joy to broach some serious political narratives without boring the trousers off my audience.
