Control Point 5

Painting on 5 panels depicting billowing ash cloud using ash and earth pigments from Northcliffe fire ARTIST’S STATEMENT: Control Point 5 is a response to the 2015 bushfires which impacted the southwest, particularly the Northcliffe fire near my studio. The artwork’s use of materials is critical in conveying the theme of human control in the landscape. Ash, charcoal and charred earth pigments were methodically collected from the fire-ground, prepared, and applied in various ways to create the imagery. Acrylic binders were incorporated to ensure stability and permanence. The resulting depiction of the billowing ash-cloud spans 5 panels, my largest work to date. The use of doors as the artwork base infers the effect of fire on our domestic lives, pairing destruction with construction. They also have a familiar human scale. However, their larger combined size allows for greater near/far interplay, depending on viewer proximity. The illusion of the complete cloud from a distance begins to break apart as the viewer approaches. The underlying surface appears to be woodgrain, charred here and there, yet all this too is an illusion. On even closer inspection, the variety of textures, techniques, and actual materials used on each panel become more obvious. The artwork’s process echoed this ‘visual disintegration’. In the outer 2 panels, layers of paint made with earth, ash and charcoal were abraded and sanded back to ‘draw’ the image. In the middle 3 panels, detail was first drawn using the dry pigments, then intentionally sacrificed by subsequent protective layers, and finally redefined, a symbolic swing between chaos and order. Tony Windberg, 2017

Frame: unframed - works on 5 sealed domestic doors. Frame size: unframed