CENOZOICA is a physical record of a conceptual self. A sculptural work dedicated to the changing and shifting idea of what makes us who we are, and the experiences that change us. Immortalised in 60-million-year-old igneous basalt mined in Victoria, and shaped by colonial settler hands hundreds of years ago, the rock takes on a human form and is dissected – its fractures and faults laid bare.
With this work, I explore the presence of emotional or mental trauma in a person, and visualise that trauma with fractures in the material, and a significant colour change in the stone. Utilising high temperatures, I oxidise the iron present in the bluestone, and the resulting colour is a deep reddish brown – a stark contrast to the cool, deep blues of how it used to be. It is in this colour shift that the rock holds the evidence of trauma, the hallmark of change.
Physically whole, but fundamentally different, the material tells a story that many can resonate with.
I am a Naarm-based sculptor, I work in many mediums and in many different scales, and utilise a range of methodologies, including ceramics practices, woodworking, stone masonry, and metal working.
instagram: @damientune
