I mentioned in the last post that I used the cut-out stencil to aid in the making of a wall piece. Below are a couple of pics of the piece, a disintergrating man, made from cherry tree leaves pinned to the gallery wall. It was shown at M16 Gallery as part of ‘Light Industrial’, a show that resulted from a series of community arts workshops that focused on the industrial site where the gallery and studio complex is located. While it is mostly bitumen and sheds, an old weeping ornatmental cherry tree opposite the main door gives a touch of something growing.
Untitled, Peter McLean, 2009, leaves and pins, detail.
Untitled, Peter McLean, 2009. Leaves and pins.
The exhibition was held in the winter, but I had already collected a lot leaves from beneath the cherry tree in the autumn and dried and pressed them so despite being on the gallery wall for several weeks they were quite stable. There was a powerful dried leaf smell when you were up close to the work too. It was quite different seeing this type of ppiece on the wall instead of on the ground as I had made them before. Also, although the work was still temporary, it was not exposed to the elements and prone to blowing apart at any moment like the pieces on the ground. That’s why I decided I needed to contrive the sense of the image disolving from the base, where I had been making the outdoor work with a complete figure.
art out and about 
March 24, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I like the piece and checked out the M16 Gallery online and enjoyed its contemporary feel. Congrats on getting one of your mushroom prints displayed so prominently!
July 17, 2010 at 4:23 pm
very, very nice. there is an older blog with some crazy looking trees that look somewhat hollowed out…where is that?
July 20, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Hi Pedro. Thanks for your comment but I’m sorry I don’t know what you mean by the hollowed out trees.