STUART CUSSONS
Stuart Cussons has always been driven by an instinctive need to explore and reshape the world around him. His traditional skills-based training in painting, printmaking, and sculpture gave him the confidence to draw creatively from diverse sources. This curiosity and lifelong passion for translating his discoveries are at the heart of his work. After years of travel and exploration, Stuart was drawn to the vibrancy and energy of the North Coast. The riotous abundance of this region has paradoxically infused his recent work with a stronger emphasis on the subtle and essential.
The genesis for the Ka (Soul) Boat sprang from the study of ancient Egyptian Shabti figures. This work strives to express that which is seen but unseen, known but unknown, yet somehow inhabits that mysterious space where life and other life touch and shimmer. The small blue boat is the fragile vessel in which all souls voyage toward the future. It contains hopes and fears, turmoil and tranquility. All is mystery, intuition, and transition. This is an endless voyage of the soul into awareness and acceptance.
Can you describe your creative process from concept to completion?
For me, the concept of a work begins at the point where ideas coalesce, and a simple, essential ‘rightness’ emerges.The process of realising the concept, it’s fashioning, is then an interplay between technique and serendipity; remaining open to new possibilities as they occur in the course of making. I don’t think of art works as truly complete. If they continue to engage and to intrigue, then they provide those exquisite moments when new possibilities unfold, and the play continues.
Where do you look for inspiration? What themes do you find most interesting?
I find the idea of inspiration with regard to my artistic practice to be problematic. I create, or re-create in order to synthesise the kaleidoscopic nature of the experience of my lived reality. By seeking to capture something of the transitory and the fleeting quality of our day to day lives, l strive to create forms that are essential yet evocative; a three dimensional form of Haiku.
Come and see for yourself at SWELL Sculpture Festival, Pacific Parade, Currumbin 6th – 15th September.