Michael Purdy
Three Ways of Joining The Earth to the Heavens, 2018
nsw, Australia
untreated wood
This series of three sculptures by Michael Purdy, each made using a single branch, was originally entitled Precarious. This name changed as a result of what he learned during the making process. Each piece is either from a branch dropped during a storm or part of an entire tree that was blown over. For this reason, Michael was very aware of the trees’ mortality and was keen to place the branches in a way that celebrated their beauty, life and eventual death. While Forest Spirit, Cathedral of the Fallen Pear Tree and Special Branch are all connected by a shared method of construction, each expresses its own form and story - as the cutting process released the stored forces of tension and compression from within.
