Foal

Shona Nunan

2019

bronze edition 3 of 8

101.5 x 53 x 26 cm

 

Foal. Beautiful, the innocence of youth. I have been profoundly influenced by Etruscan sculptures since living in Italy and somehow I think this Foal is reminiscent of those sculptures. It is elongated without any classical proportion. 

Poulain. Magnifique, l’innocence de la jeunesse. J’ai été profondément influencé par les sculptures étrusques depuis que j’ai vécu en Italie et, d’une certaine manière, je pense que ce poulain fait penser à ces sculptures. Il est allongé sans aucune proportion classique. 

available

ENQUIRE

Spirit Guardian

Shona Nunan

2017

bronze

edition 2 of 8

228 x 67 x 47 cm

The Spirit Guardian came to me in 2011 when we were staying on the beach in Thailand. I found a beautiful segment of tortoise shell that to me looked like the male partner in one of my guardian figures. At this stage in my work, I was a lot more figurative so it took years before this inspirational find was able to evolve with meaning into my work. Spirit Guardian is also evocative of other influences in my work including the shield and the mask of ancient cultures. For me, the Spirit Guardian is about the creation of a form that one recognises as a protector, that in its simplicity and strength it is representative of the essence of life.

This sculpture is highly textured on the ‘front’ side where there is the reminiscence of human form in the line of the body, the head and the firm anchoring of the lower legs to the earth, the flat rectangular form around it, like a cloak. The texture of this front side has a feeling of being feathery, and I guess this come from my constant delight in feathers and their ability to make you feel swathed in softness, the wing like curl of the feather forms, creating that feel of the mother enfolding her chick. The ‘back’ of this Guardian is a firm hard surface, like the outer shell. There are some lines that came from the original tortoise shell that for me are the marking of the shoulders and backbone and I have incorporated this ‘segmentation’ into other guardian figures as well.

‘Spirit Guardian’ is a quite two dimensional piece in that it is not rounded with sides. Its form is bent gently towards the viewer and feels like it towers over one. Its presence is benign.

 

Amphora

Shona Nunan

1997

bronze unique cast

not available

Gothic Woman

Shona Nunan

1996

bronze unique cast

not available

 

Gothic Woman is like an elongation of woman in the haze of desert heat. 

Her slender forms create in their negative spaces a memory of old gothic arches.

Amphora series

 

Shona Nunan

1996

bronze unique cast

not available

 

The amphora series comes from the woman as a vessel,

an abstraction of the physical form to one of function and purpose.

She is the tide and fall of woman as she goes in and out of the cycles of life,

her form emptying and filling and emptying, nourishing and creating life.

Serenity

Shona Nunan

2000

bronze edition 6 of 8

44 x 11 x 6 cm

 

 

The abundant forms of womanhood.

She came inspired from a beautiful twig found in the bush.

There were seed pods attached to the stick and I thought it was a woman in gentle reflection of her beautiful self.

Two Earth Guardians

Shona Nunan

2015

bronze

edition of 8

99 x 86 x 32 cm

A theme in Nunan’s work for many years, the Guardians were at first inspired from travels with her artist father when she was a young girl, through the outback of Australia. Discoveries of caves and their sacred painted entities guarding the entrances to these caves, stayed with her as important symbols of protection and safety.

These Earth Guardian forms have evolved and been inspired by shields both African and New Guinean, by beautiful finds of shells and seed pods on sticks, leaves and feathers. They are a pair, male and female, representing the opposite strengths and unity of night and day, conscious and unconscious. 

 

Thème de l’œuvre de Nunan depuis de nombreuses années, les gardiens ont d’abord été inspirés par les voyages qu’elle a effectués avec son père artiste, alors qu’elle était une jeune fille, dans l’outback australien. La découverte de grottes et de leurs entités peintes sacrées qui en gardaient l’entrée est restée dans son esprit comme un symbole important de protection et de sécurité.

Ces formes de gardiens de la Terre ont évolué et ont été inspirées par des boucliers africains et néo-guinéens, par de magnifiques trouvailles de coquillages et de cosses de graines sur des bâtons, des feuilles et des plumes. Ils forment une paire, mâle et femelle, représentant les forces opposées et l’unité de la nuit et du jour, du conscient et de l’inconscient.

 

Joy

Shona Nunan

2009

bronze

edition of 8

57 x 53 x 40 cm

Nunan created ‘Joy’ while she was working on a major commission for three acrobats. Inspired by traditional Chinese clothing, she sculpted the acrobats in a more  geometric format to avoid the anatomical concentration of figure and to focus more on the solidity of the supporting figures in the squared off clothes and the exuberance and energy of movement in the balancing acrobat. The rider in Joy has a direct correlation to these acrobats, creating a star form in his Chinese inspired costume, a moment of joy and abandon, arms and legs flung wide, with absolute trust in the safety and strength of the solid horse below.  This sculpture is truly a celebration of life, of the feeling of certainty and safety one sometimes knows and the complete joy of letting go. 

The first edition is in the collection of the Hamilton Regional Gallery Museum, Australia.

 

Nunan a créé “Joy” alors qu’elle travaillait sur une importante commande de trois acrobates. Inspirée par les vêtements traditionnels chinois, elle a sculpté les acrobates dans un format plus géométrique afin d’éviter la concentration anatomique de la figure et de se concentrer davantage sur la solidité des figures de soutien dans les vêtements carrés et sur l’exubérance et l’énergie du mouvement de l’acrobate en équilibre. Le cavalier dans Joy a une corrélation directe avec ces acrobates, créant une forme d’étoile dans son costume d’inspiration chinoise, un moment de joie et d’abandon, bras et jambes écartés, avec une confiance absolue dans la sécurité et la force du cheval solide en dessous.  Cette sculpture est véritablement une célébration de la vie, du sentiment de certitude et de sécurité que l’on connaît parfois et de la joie totale de se laisser aller. 

La première édition fait partie de la collection du Hamilton Regional Gallery Museum, en Australie.

Triptych

bronze

1999

bronze edition of 3

128 x 150 x 26 cm

 

Sacred Woman

Shona Nunan

1994

bronze, unique cast

32 x 18 x 18 cm

 

 

Honouring the sacred woman.

She is the earth, she is a reminder of the seasons, the cycles of life, of miraculous fecundity.