Review: Ricky Swallow - Art & Representation

Ricky Swallow is a contemporary Australian sculptor whose most recent work has been said to honor the realism of Baroque sculpture. Born in 1974 in San Remo, Victoria, his experiences growing up as the son of a fisherman have influenced his work and practice.

Swallow’s earlier works were created through methods of casting and injection molding, using resins to create exact copies objects. However his later work moves away from these new technologies and methods, returning to more traditional methods of woodcarving to create his realistic and representational sculptures. Swallow has said “carving it is learning it, casting it is just having it there again.” (Paton 2004)This statement provides some insight into the reasoning for this shift. Carving is a way for Swallow to connect with and learn the object he is creating, developing a dialogue with the sculpture and hence a language. This is also one of the reasons he began carving skulls, because everyone has one and yet we aren’t familiar with it as an object. His clever use of the skull can be seen in the work Come Together.

Many of his works consist of a variety of carved objects that hold some personal significance or memory. For example in his artwork Killing Time all of the objects have some significance, the creatures are all representations of the fish that as a child Swallow had caught.

The realism that is evident in his work plays a vital role in captivating his audience.  Eleanor Heartney poses the question “ Is mimesis really all about fostering visual trickery?” (Heartney 2008) in the case of Swallows work creating something realistic for the sole purpose of tricking the viewer is not his intention. Trickery however, has a role to play and is part of the initial attraction to Swallow’s work. For example his artwork Sleeping Range a part of the installation Tomorrow in Common was carved from laminated wood with impeccable detail. By combining this with the lighting in the space it gives the surface of the wood the luster of fabric, creating the illusion of a real sleeping bag even though it is clearly fashioned out of wood.  It is only after this initial trickery subsides that it becomes evident there are underlying themes of time, memory and loss being alluded to through this work.

Ricky Swallow has been successful in using representation to attract and connect with his audience.

Book References:

• Heartney, Eleanor. Art & Today. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2008.
• Parton, Justin. Ricky Swallow  Field Recordings. Victoria: Craftsman House, 2004.

Web References:

• www.rickyswallow.com

Images:

• Image 1: Come Together, 2002, laminated jelutong, 66 x 63.5 x 81 cm.
• Image 2: Killing Time, 2003-04, laminated jelutong, maple, 108 x 184 x 118 cm.
• Image 3: Sleeping Range, 2002, laminated jelutong, 198 x 71 x 20 cm.

( all images from www.rickyswallow.com/collections/view/sculpture )