There’s something rather surreal about seeing my work in a gallery. My new exhibition, ‘Boxes’, has just opened at MOMA Machynlleth, and it’s a long way from where I started with a chainsaw and a piece of wood. At the time, I was more concerned with whether I could actually make the thing I had in my head without accidentally turning it into a very expensive pile of firewood!
‘Boxes’ is being shown in The Sculpture Space at MOMA Machynlleth, part of The Tabernacle in the centre of Machynlleth, and is on now until 14 November. The Tabernacle itself is a pretty special place, with seven gallery spaces and a concert hall housed in what was originally a Wesleyan chapel, so there’s a lot more to the venue than just white walls and a few carefully positioned spotlights.
MOMA has a particular focus on modern and contemporary Welsh art, and I’m really pleased to have my work included in that programme. My exhibition is one large installation, bringing all the elements together as a single piece of work, and gives people the chance to see the work up close in a gallery environment. This is quite different from seeing one of my larger pieces sitting outside somewhere in a public arena or with a chainsaw-sized pile of sawdust around it! Entry is free, so if you’re anywhere near Machynlleth, it’s well worth popping in and having a look around the other exhibitions while you’re there too.
There’s something quite appropriate about calling the exhibition ‘Boxes’, because we seem to love putting things in boxes. Painter, sculptor, illustrator, woodworker, chainsaw artist… I’ve never been particularly good at staying in one lane. There’s also something I’ve noticed over the years about the phrase “chainsaw artist”. It can be a bit of a double-edged sword. People hear “artist” and might imagine a nice quiet studio, perhaps a paintbrush, a bit of classical music in the background and someone thoughtfully contemplating a canvas. Tell them you use a chainsaw and suddenly there’s a slightly different picture in their head. Noise, sawdust, ear defenders and possibly a large hole in something that didn’t originally have one!
More seriously, I do think people can be predisposed to judge work differently as soon as they hear that a chainsaw was involved. That has always struck me as rather odd. A chainsaw is simply a tool. A painter uses a brush, a sculptor might use a chisel – and I use a chainsaw. The tool doesn’t make the artist, and I think we’re sometimes far too quick to put people into categories based on what they use rather than what they actually create.
When I was moving into chainsaw artistry, one of my biggest inspirations was David Nash. His work really opened my eyes to what could be done with wood and sculpture, and he was one of the artists who made me think differently about the material I was working with. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that David has also exhibited in the very same room at MOMA Machynlleth where my exhibition is now being shown! That’s one of those coincidences that makes you stop for a minute. Years ago, I was looking at the work of an artist who inspired me and wondering where my own carving might take me, and now I’ve got my own work in the same space. I’m not sure you can put that in a career plan. “Step 14: Exhibit in the same room as David Nash.” It certainly wasn’t on mine!
What I really hope people take from ‘Boxes’, though, is that you shouldn’t judge an artwork, or an artist, by the tool they use. If someone can create something amazing with a pencil, brilliant. If they can create something amazing with a paintbrush, brilliant. If they can create something amazing with a lump of wood and a chainsaw, well… hopefully that’s brilliant too.
We’re all guilty of putting people into categories because it makes life easier. We see something familiar and decide we know what it is, but artists, like their work, can be a bit more complicated than that. I’ve spent much of my career being described as a chainsaw artist, and I’m certainly not going to complain about it. It’s a rather useful way of explaining what I do before someone asks whether I paint watercolours, but I’ve always seen the chainsaw as a means to an end rather than the end itself.
What interests me is sculpture. Shape, form, texture, expression and taking a piece of wood and seeing what might be hiding inside it. The chainsaw just happens to be the tool that helps me get there. And perhaps that’s why I like ‘Boxes’ as a title. Sometimes the best thing you can do is climb out of the box someone else has put you in. Preferably without using a chainsaw, although obviously I make no promises!
‘Boxes’ is at MOMA Machynlleth until 14 November. If you’re in the area, come and have a look. It’s a slightly surreal feeling seeing my work in a gallery like this, but a very enjoyable one, and hopefully it might make a few people look at chainsaw artistry – and perhaps artists in general – a little differently.
