The enduring nature of stone: Australian sculptor Hew
Hew’s latest exhibition “Don’t Dive Shallow in Deep Dark Water” is a culmination of more than three decades of sculptural practice.
Art Radar considers Hew’s practice, which brings out the true spirit of his natural materials.
Hew’s “Don’t Dive Shallow in Deep Dark Water” is on show at Caboolture Regional Art Gallery in Queensland, Australia until 9 November 2016. Originally from Malaysia, Hew settled in Australia in the 1980s and is now based near the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. He is a sculptor who produces large-scale public art as well as smaller sculptures.
‘Tenacity and Adversity Are Old Foes’©Hew 2016, granite boulder, basalt and timber. Image courtesy the artist.
Hew obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Visual Art) in Sculpture in 1983 and a Post Graduate Diploma in Sculpture in 1984 from the Newcastle College of Advanced Education, New South Wales, Australia. He has received over 25 public commissions and has exhibited widely in Australia and the United States since the 1980s. He has received many awards and his work can be found in Brisbane Port Authority, Noosa Botanic Gardens, University of Northern Illinois Sculpture Park, the Queensland Art Gallery and Newcastle Region Art Gallery. In 2011 he was the commissioned Artist Assistant to international environmental sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, Great Walks of Queensland Public Art ’Strangler Cairn’.
‘Island’ (installation detail)©Hew 2015, petrified wood, granite and hardwood. Image courtesy the artist and Caboolture Regional Art Gallery.
Creating a moment of quiet contemplation
“Don’t Dive Shallow in Deep Dark Water” conveys a sense of calm and tranquillity, a space that encourages a still moment of reflection. The exhibition draws from many of Hew’s ongoing themes, such as notions of labour, time, intuition, connection to materials, and often arduous processes.
‘Calm Before the Storm’ ©Hew (detail), 2016, granite. Photo: Oliver Hew. Image courtesy the artist
As stated in the introduction to the exhibition:
Hew’s works shy away from explicitly defining, naming or categorising. They evoke rather than represent, elicit rather than designate. We are left to our private reveries and contemplations.
This ability to let the work speak for itself could be linked to Hew’s intuitive approach. The concept of Tao is present in his work, with an emphasis on living in harmony with the natural flow of the universe. This approach leaves the viewer to interpret the works in their own way, with limited guidance. Hew lets the material reach out directly.
‘Falling Rock’ ©Hew (installation), 2000, Thursday Plantation Sculpture Park Collection Ballina NSW. Image courtesy the artist
Shaping the material
Hew works in stone – granites, basalt and recently marble – as well as petrified timber. In an interview with the Hinterland Times, Hew explained his choice of medium:
I know that stone is my passion. I love the medium and I have always worked with stone. It must be saying something to me. I suppose I would describe myself as an intuitive sculptor because I don’t always start out with a clear-cut concept.
‘Incredible Nothing That Penetrates All Reality’©Hew University of Northern Illinois Sculpture Park. Image courtesy the artist
Rather than having a plan for his work, Hew allows the shapes to emerge under his hands, enjoying the physical work of the making process. Fong goes on to explain in the interview that
stone elicits such strong emotional responses…and implies all things of an enduring nature – stability, dependability, both timelessness and the passage of time.
In creating his works Hew tries to keep true to the original stone, revealing the character of it rather than converting it into something new. In an interview with the Sunshine Coast, he called it “tweaking” the stone. Purposefully maintaining the essence of the original materials is a core part of Hew’s practice. He believes that leaving “at least some of materials’ natural (original) surface is a sign of respect for its history and character-to which [he’s] just adding with the lightest possible touch”. This light touch is present in his work, which evokes the natural world from where the stone was drawn.
‘Lotus’©Hew granite, graphite, pigmented sand and sea washed coal. Image courtesy the artist.
Merging public art and intimate works
Hew’s larger public artworks are created as part of a collaboration with artist Noonan. They design and create site-specific public art for the built environment and natural settings. The number of works created through this collaboration is extensive, and include works found throughout Queensland and Australia, as well as China and Canada.
‘Ripple Effect’ (installation photo)©Hew+Noonan 2011. Image courtesy the artists.
The works are very connected to the sites, bringing a moment of stillness to public spaces. Ripple Effect is one such example. It is a tactile installation that encourages interaction through its circular design. The explanation of the work emphasises the tranquil nature of the piece:
The centre of the main installation is a form generated by a giganticised water drop. It and the ensuing ripple function as both a zen-like focal point and as a non-political statement that all larger actions are composed of many smaller actions. A drop of rain will not only make its mark but create ripples and a flow on effect as can every member of a community large or small affect and direct the course of a desired outcome. Here Hew and Noonan create a still point in the turning world where people can return to nature.
‘spirit box #5: gompa’ ©Hew 280 x 230 x 200mm. Image courtesy the artist.
Although Hew has made a name for himself through his public artworks, he has also worked on smaller pieces. In the series “Spirit Boxes” the artist made five works that explore the spirituality of stone. He likens the process to “coming up to take a breath of fresh air” after his years of intensive large-scale collaborative works.
‘spirit box #1:opuntia’ ©Hew 240 x 180 x 170mm, granite. Image courtesy the artist.
By working on a smaller scale Hew was able to create works in a shorter time frame, which also allowed him to experiment with new ideas. He comments on his blog that
A radical change in scale from the monumental to the very small is liberating. Each work is in effect a self contained novella as opposed to a novel, they are conceived and executed in a relatively short period of time, and are acts of pure indulgence. The only constraints that I set myself are that they must originate from a ‘natural’ boulder and allude to the functional.
These constraints have resulted in self-contained and sometimes whimsical works that are seeking the spirituality of the material.
Claire Wilson