HAYDEN PHOENIX

Sculptural artist Hayden Phoenix, originally from New Zealand, is now based in Australia. With a background in photography, he has worked as a wedding and portrait photographer since 2001. While living in Tokyo in 1997, he developed an interest in minimalism and Brutalist architecture. In 2017, he began experimenting with thin concrete reliefs featuring geometric patterns before shifting to larger monolithic forms.

Monolith
Hayden Phoenix creates sculptures that explore dualities, ancient and futuristic, conscious and unconscious, perfection and impermanence. Influenced by brutalism and minimalism, his concrete and steel forms evoke the raw presence of monolithic structures while embracing the wabi-sabi aesthetic. Hayden draws on the symbolism of sacred sites, embedding semi-precious stones like quartz into his casts to connect his work with earth’s deep history and energetic resonance. These elements imbue his pieces with a sense of timelessness and place. Guided by metaphysical inquiry, Hayden’s work becomes a language of form that invites reflection on existence, memory, and our boundless inner potential.

Instagram  @concreteartist_haydenphoenix

Website  haydenphoenixartist.com

What sparked the idea for the work you are exhibiting at SWELL this year?

I’ve always been fascinated by ancient cultures and how they used architecture, places of worship, and megalithic structures for encoding astronomical knowledge, spiritual wisdom, and their belief systems as symbolic representations of the cosmos and human existence. My sculpture explores many of these themes within the 20 reliefs that are cast within the 5 cubes that make up the monolith.

What’s something people might not realise about the process behind your work?

Within each of the 5 cubes, I place many pages of writing, including my views on the human condition, prayers, affirmations and poetry. I also embed various semi-precious stones, such as quartz crystal, tigers eye, malachite etc into the centre of each cube. I love the idea that these crystals, formed over millions of years, carry a history and energetic resonance now woven in the body of the sculpture.

What role does location or environment play in your sculptures?

I believe my work can be at home both in an architectural environment be it a gallery or commercial building or in a natural setting as all monolithic sites around the world are set into the natural landscape. I love the fact the steel base cross support for the monolith and the steel rods the 12 mice stand on are embedded within the earth and therefore become a part of the earth’s resonance.

Is there a moment or memory that shaped you as an artist?

My time living in Tokyo introduced me to the world of concrete architecture, particularly residential homes made entirely of concrete, which I came to love the most. I loved roaming the streets around Aoyama, where I lived, marvelling at these incredible architectural designs. As I examined the walls of these homes more closely, I became fascinated by the concrete’s irregular surfaces. Uneven textures, air bubbles, and various cracks became so beautiful to me. Around the same time, I learned about the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which embraces the beauty of imperfection, impermanence, and simplicity, valuing natural, weathered, and flawed objects and experiences. For me, concrete as a medium perfectly encapsulates the wabi-sabi aesthetic. In my own work, I constantly strive to create these “imperfections” in the finishes of my artworks.

What keeps you coming back to sculpture as a form of expression?

There are no limits on size, shape, material and location with sculpture. For me, this is the universe.

If you could install your work anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

That’s easy. Yoyogi Park in central Tokyo. I have so many fond memories of my time spent in that park and it’s very near to where my journey with concrete began.