STRANGE COUPLINGS
Assemblages

9 - 25 MARCH 2017
Beaver Galleries

He presents two series of work in this exhibition, Totems for an Atheist' and 'Docklands'. With the totems, Alex feels “a compulsion to build these, but must admit they are still mysterious to me. There is, of course, my childhood, the son of anthropologists surrounded by exotic artefacts, African masks and South American spears and arrows; my recent trip to New Zealand where I had the privilege to meet and see Maori artists carving intricate and powerful wooden objects; my love of Duchampian objects and the strange couplings of the Surrealist - lobster and phone." By restricting his palette for the 'totems' to primarily black and red, when presented en masse, they provide a sense of cohesion and a strong impact. This does not however distract from the individual power of each piece, composed of carefully constructed elements. The 'Docklands' works are inspired by Alex's childhood love of harbours and the docklands that surround them. A recent trip to New Zealand, particularly the docks around Dunedin, has also provided inspiration for the series: "The use of galvanised corrugated steel and timber and the endless repairs and extensions over the past 200 years have created enormous sculptural patchworks of textured compositions." Eminent art critic and historian, Professor Sasha Grishin AM, comments that "Alex is an unusual sculptor whose art does not fit into an established mould, nor follows a defined postmodernist orientation.