Sculpture from Martin Selman is loaded with cultural symbols that transform the 'everyday' nature of contemporary objects, while challenging the initial aesthetic assumptions of the viewer. With his tender renderings of quirky subjects, Selman generates paradoxical works that contrast notions of softness and hardness; matt and shine; the ethereal and the monumental.
Across this body of work, Selman draws a myriad of linkages though time, culture and tradition - from the classical sculpture of Greek and Roman statuary, to colonial occupation of New Zealand, through to contemporary culture. He demonstrates the appropriation of Maori cultural symbols into a New Zealand vernacular and elevates the most 'ordinary' objects of our time into fine art works. These transformations and connections are made possible by Selman's deep knowledge of the properties of marble, the classical traditions of sculpture and his identity as a New Zealand artist.
Temporal linkages are especially clear in Self Portrait Reworked and Revisited I and II where classical sculpture techniques are used to make a monument of an obviously contemporary subject (the artist himself). The juxtaposition of colonial rifles and Gordon Walters-inspired koru forms cleverly demonstrate links between British occupation, the appropriation of Maori symbolism and the emergence of a bicultural identity in New Zealand. In Button III and Button (Large) and in the forms of the undulating pulped-paper fruit packaging of B65D I and II, the artist identifies and transforms ordinary yet ubiquitous objects and makes monuments of these every-day items.
A key motif in much of Selman’s work is the obscuring of detail by what appears to be folds of fabric flowing across the surface of the form (as in Pistol and Kotiate II). This device references fabric flows of classical sculpture, enhancing the emblematic nature of the forms, transforming them from literal representations to concise poetic statements that simplify complex ideas.
Selman’s transformations are a poignant and highly symbolic reflection of his own identity – both in the great western traditions of marble sculpture and in his vocation as a New Zealand contemporary artist.
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