War Crimes

Made in response to scenes from Bucha in Ukraine. Russians made the local civilians wear white armbands to distinguish them from fighters/soldiers, they then used those same armbands to tie their hands before executing them.

While I work regularly in sculpture my background is photography and as such my approach to working with sculpture is informed by, and uses some of approaches and techniques from photography. The sculpture was made using a 3D scanning device. This was used to scan my partners hands bound with white cloth. A 3D model was then processed and printed using a 3D printer, the 3D print was then sculpted and worked on. An iron based rust paint was applied and oxidised. Finally the white armband/restraint was hand painted.

This is about a 1/3 scale maquette of the final. Due to the size of the 3D base I have access to it was better idea to work small for the test. The final will be printed as 3 or 4 sections and joined prior to sculpting & painting. The final result will be approx life size. I hope to exhibit this piece later in the year and it forms to basis for a larger installation I'm proposing.

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‘Offshore Processing’

'Fair Dinkum Offshore Processing’ was made in response to how successive Australian governments, of both sides of the fence have decided to treat some of the most at risk and vulnerable people on the planet. From the lies and deceptions with 'children overboard', through to the establishment of 'camps' in other jurisdictions to the manipulation of immigration laws and zones, their behavior and the fact we let them get away with is shameful. The title comes from a 2011 quote from Mitch Fifield.†

While we may have a government we do not have any leadership. If we can't have leadership anymore, if it's true that the 24 hour news cycle, the obsession with opinion polls and emphasis on re-action rather than action is our reality, then I can only hope our 'governors' (they are NOT leaders) can see the change and 'react'. The death of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi, the story of baby Asha and the #letthemstay campaign has signaled a shift in the general populous. If policy can't be changed can't for the right reason, by leaders who lead with their heart and heads, then let them do it to score a few percentage points in the latest round of popularity pageants.

My sculpture 'Offshore Processing' is a simple floating structure, a facility, cold and austere. It's made from galvanized steel, aluminum and razor wire. For security it has two, mains power independent, high power LED lights and its most important feature: no gate. Once you’re in, it's very hard to get out! Five figures stand rusting (corten steel) behind the fence.

I hope this sculpture will send a message to our politicians, raise awareness and hopefully raise funds* to change our direction as a nation and support the most vulnerable.

† http://www.mitchfifield.com/Media/MediaReleases/tabid/70/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/528/Transcript--Sky-News-AM-Agenda--19-December-2011.aspx

Installed at Sculpture by the Sea - Tamarama beach

The work was also part of the 2016 Sculpture by the Sea, it was installed at Tamarama Beach.

Sculpture by (and in) the Sea

by Jo Litson on 24 October, 2016

Huge waves have damaged four sculptures and destroyed one at Sydney’s popular coastal exhibition.

Several sculptures in the hugely popular Sydney exhibition Sculpture by the Sea – a free display of more than 100 sculptures along the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk – were damaged on Monday by a high tide and huge swell, as strong winds sent waves crashing to the shore.

Some artworks were swamped but survived. However, five were badly affected including Bronek Koxka’s Fair Dinkum Offshore Processing featuring figures in a metal cage, which was destroyed.

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Development, construction and installation

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But When I Became a Man (2012)

2012 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize

Much of my work looks at memory and remembered moments. In But When I Became a Man, I am looking at the toys and the games we must leave behind as we grow up. There is a realisation that the toy guns, the killing and the soldiers are wrong, but there is conflict too. This toys and memories associated with them are fun, and it is in this conflict that I find a sense of melancholy.

Here are some details and others that were part of this series