Boat People
Louise Purvis
Title: Boat People
Date: 2019
Medium: Marine grade Stainless steel, 4.5 tonne cast iron moulds
Artist Description:
RiverHaven had a Keel bulb mould { from a yacht } they had acquired from a foundry, and invited me to come up with a sculpture that utilised these beautiful forms. I was informed that they once launched boats on the property so we together decided to place the mould in that area, one half is near the high tide line and the other half is pulled up to dry ground. We then filled half the mould with water.
I have built a tiny settlement across the the mould featuring small houses tanks and other objects a community may build connected by a lattice work of steel which suspends the settlement above the waters surface. I was thinking about how we came to be here with a lot of our ancestors arriving via the oceans and where we are collectively heading, with the seas rising up.
Bio:
Louise Purvis’s primary mediums are stone and metals. Her works often have a simplicity to them which belies their actual making. Recent work has been based around land forms and notations of marking and mapping.
She has received many Art awards and she has completed a number of public site specific commissions. She works from an Auckland based studio and exhibits on a regular basis.
