Amy Watson

Artist Statement

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My practice involves delicate hand-stitching of segments of finely cut balsa wood to create geometric forms, examining the human propensity for imagining different and better worlds from a highly personal and idiosyncratic point of view.

There is a sense of animation and anticipation in many of my recent sculptural works; something has just happened or is just about to. The object hangs in the balance, with the lightweight quality of the balsa allowing it to almost defy gravity. The recent inclusion of unexpected outré materials – helium balloons, glow-in-the-dark pigments, and glitter – have caused these works to wobble, spin, glisten and even levitate while adding a clunkyness that contradicts the seductive beauty of the stitched satin-surfaced balsa. My approach to the colour and surface alludes more to textiles than woodwork. Favouring staining the wood with washes of watercolour, I elicit from it a satin, fabric-like quality.

Art Forms