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Artist Statement for Tim Wetherell
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Bio.
Tim Wetherell was born in Bradford, England in 1962. He graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 1986 with first class Honours in Physics and received the 1986 class medal. Tim then went on to complete a PhD in condensed matter physics, again at The University of St Andrews. In Addition to his scientific studies, Tim pursued a successful career in art photography holding a number of solo exhibitions and publishing work in many leading photography magazines. It was through photography that Tim developed an interest in sculpture, building scale models and plaster figures to photograph. In the course of time, the models themselves became a more significant art form than the photographs and Tim began working as a sculptor. Tim migrated to Australia in 1990 and took up a research position at the Australian National University. Having been a practicing sculptor for ten years, Tim formalised his art training by undertaking a Diploma of Art at the National Institute of the Arts in Canberra, which he completed in 2002.
Artist's Statement
A man once tried to persuade me to by into his Amway pyramid scheme. He didn't succeed in selling me any shampoo, but he did sell me on an idea - Perception is reality.
In science, the aim is to see objectively with no prejudice. (Long, long ago in a University far, far away I used to be physicist.) However, as human beings it is only our personal inner reality that has any real meaning at all. The way we see the world is totally distorted by our prejudices and preconceptions. As Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet says "Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so".
In the broadest sense, my work aims to explore different perceptions of a single reality.
As a vehicle for this, I model figures in a romantic and decorative style, influenced by artists such as Clodion, and patina their surfaces with digital images or other contemporary materials. The figures contain strong Rococo and Neoclassical elements and a high level of ornate decoration. The rationale behind the choice of forms is that they are in themselves a distortion of reality. An over sweet, idealised view of the world. The digital images that cover their surfaces depict a differing and often negative view of the same subject matter.
I believe that my fascination with Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassicism stems from my childhood, where I was occasionally taken on school excursions to various stately homes around England. Blissfully unaware of the inherent symbolism and inferred sense of social hierarchy contained in the artworks, I stared wide eyed at what to me at the time was a completely different world to the rows of dilapidated terrace houses in my home town.
My figures are modelled in clay from life. I then cast them in a variety of materials ranging from fibreglass to plaster depending on the structural requirements. The surface images are photographed digitally, computer manipulated and printed onto suitable paper before being bonded to the surface. The resulting artworks initially present a reassuring prettiness but on closer examination can be perceived as quite macabre.
In terms of future directions, three artists I am studying at the moment are Kiki Smith, James Croak and Louise Bourgeois - all of whom employ elements of the figure in unusual ways. Within my own work, I would also like to begin exploring the possibilities of partial figures and hybrids of animal/human and human/inanimate. I imagine that romantic elements will exist in my future work but perhaps more in the form of a motif than entire works. I am especially interested in hybridisation of human and bird characteristics and form.
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