photo Alex Makeyev
Windsong
"Windsong, is a work carved from a singular piece of she-oak(casuarina). Although Peter was given the burl some 4 years ago, he was not 'moved' to begin to work the piece until recently. 'It had been attacked by dry rot and other fungi where it lay in situ years ago in a forest of its origin. My first task was to gouge out the softened wood portions, gradually working towards the heartwood, its "bones ". I remember the location of the coastal she-oak forest. The wind howling through the drooping canopies and a hawk glides nearby'. When Peter started working on the piece he could"feel" the bird form inside, like a physical tension striving to be released'. Gradually, an organic form evolved 'into its own being'. Following the carving, Carrigy applied kaolin and paint to emphasise free-flowing contours. Eventually the work emerged in its finished form to suggest from one angle, the aerodynamic wings of a bird, and from another view, raising clouds.
As with his other works, Windsong's polished and painted surfaces enhances its rhythmic sensuality, seducing the viewer to draw closer, to experience its rich grain and alluring qualities."
- Dr Noris Iaonnou, Crafts Arts International No 50, 2000
she-oak, kaolin, paint
(250 x 300 x 530)
private collection: Melbourne