On the 9th of June 2021 a violent storm tore through the Dandenong Ranges, an estimated 25,000 trees were up rooted and torn apart. Roads were blocked, houses were crushed, and residents shaken.
Storm Leaves is my act of transformation, salvaging logs from nature strips and front yards with the assistance from friends and community, I began carving leaves. It felt fitting to use this motif to reveal the complexity, beauty and growth story of the tree to help overcome a challenging time.
Trees are the reason I choose to live in the Dandenong Ranges, from the tall Mountain Ash forests to the many large gardens of exotic trees from around the world, trees are the dominant and much-loved residents of the Hills.
It was therefore crushing for many of us both physically and emotionally, to witness so much destruction in the place we call home.
I am going to carve leaves for some time, as an act of healing and renewal for myself and my community.
Storm Leaves pays homage to the mighty lifeforce of trees. A portion of the sales price of these sculptures will be donated to community led recovery programs in the Hills.
I would like to acknowledge Michael Hayes, Paul Cantlay and Ram Welti for their generous assistance on this project.
For more information on my work, see antonmcmurraysculptor.com
Medium: Timber, Cypress
Price: $8,500, 8,500 & $10,500 (sold separately or together)
Anton McMurray
Completed a Bachelor’s degree in fine arts, (Sculpture) VCA in 1998, studied sculpture at Emily Carr institute in Canada 1997. Exhibitions include, Sydney’s Sculpture by the sea, Lorne Biannual, the Mc Clelland survey of Australian sculpture, Deakin small sculpture prize and the Montalto sculpture prize.
In 2003 Anton was invited to Japan to create a piece for the Inami international Sculpture symposium. Anton has received several awards and prizes for his work and his sculptures can be found in public and private collections in Australia, Japan and Canada.
