Alan Todd – Contemporary Artist and Sculptor in Adelaide 

PAINTING

I have always been a painter but not in a traditional sense. I choose paint as a medium when the idea suggests that paint and canvas are the best ways to explore it. The paintings below are part of an ongoing series Conversations with my Father. The title is ironic in that such conversations that took place over a lifetime were perfunctory and inevitably inconsequential. He never saw these paintings and as his eyesight and hearing failed, there was little opportunity.

Allegory 3                   Somnambulant in N.             Hira Hira                   Infinite Jest 1.                 Pilot 1.                             Fate 

1520x1520mm.         1520x1520mm       1520x1520mm                       1200x1200mm                1520x1520mm             1520x1520mm

Acryilc on canvas        Acryilc on canvas          Acryilc on canvas          Acryilc on canvas              Acryilc on canvas.     Acryilc on canvas

Zoetrope.                         Too late, too far.          Time and tide.              Gravity                 Conversation with my Father.  Ms Vendetta   

1520x1520mm.               1520x1520mm.           1520x1520mm          1520x1520mm.                1520x1520mm             1520x1520mm

Acrylic on canvas.        Acrylic on canvas           Acrylic on canvas.       Acrylic on canvas.         Acrylic on canvas.         Acrylic on canvas

  Conversation 1.     Left Hand Draw                  Incident on Coro1.      Incident on Coro 2         Conversation 2              Sleepers

1520x1520mm.      1520x1520mm                   1520x1520mm             1520x1520mm              1520x1520mm.               1520x1520mm

Acrylic on canvas.  Acrylic on canvas.            Acrylic on canvas            Acrylic on canvas.        Acrylic on canvas           Acrylic on canvas

SCULPTURE

The theme of ironic convcrsations with my father is also found in sculptural form. This series uses the motif of the damaged retina, something my father and I shared in common without ever broaching it in conversation. As his eyesight deteriorated to the point of blindness all that was left was very limited hearing. The constructions reflect this with nylon line and plastic stretched across the spaces – a symbol for possible sound

. A third iteration of this idea comes with the Liminals series. My father grew up in the Great Depression when ‘making do’ was the catch phrase. Everything had to be repaired and repurposed – something he never abandoned. Each of these pieces is constructed from items found on the shelves of Bunnings. I chose them for both their aesthetic and functional value even though I couldn’t identity a specific function for a number of them. Placed as they are they create new narratives both vertically and horizontally with the spaces between acting as liminal spaces.

Each piece is 1300mmx960mm and uses industral plywood as a base. Materials: wood, plastic ties, copper, plastic mould, clothes pegs precut letters, wooden tongs, chopsticks, felt chair leg protectors, jute twine, Perspex, wooden balls, plastic mirror