BRYAN JONES - SCULPTURE
Bryan Jones specialised in Sculpture at Elam Art School, Auckland, New Zealand completing a degree with honours. A North Shore, Auckland resident for 35 years and now Tauranga, Bay of Plenty. He taught art for many years. He is a contemporary of Terry Stringer, who he worked as a technician for some years.
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He has exhibited occasionally (Remuera Gallery, Mahurangi Group and Auckland Botanical Gardens and Sculpture on the Shore) and completed several commission works over the years. Bryan works in terracotta, bronze and wood, using figurative themes with the suggestion of mythology.
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"Seams and tabs have become something of a trademark for me; a reference to pressed tin toys and the characteristics of the moulding process. For years I have been interested in the idea of toys as icons. The word toy can suggest something not very serious, but most people have memories of special toys which had an identity and power well beyond their base value".
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Artio - Bear goddess
"I have retained a fascination with the format of metal figures and tin toys which extended beyond 'tin soldiers' to a variety of topics with their props. They belong to a world half real, half stage. But each piece holds a story itself and is an effigy with a totemic quality.
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The 'tin soldier' flatness did not distract from their appeal, it heightened it. Something happened between front and back. Often there were subtle or even not too subtle discrepancies between front and back and there was an 'A' and 'B' side. I frequently found the 'B' sides had more appeal. Although less favoured than the 'show' side they were more subtle, less obvious.
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Moving the format into an uncharacteristic and even contradictory material (terracotta) emphasises these elements further. The problems I have set myself provide both artistic licence and parameters which I enjoy.
The "Cargo Queen" is an ongoing theme.
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