There were more than a few confused faces at a recent exhibition of work by Sydney sculptor Alex Seton, staged at Palmer Street Gallery, Darlinghurst.

The confusion gave way to wonder as the audience gradually realised the graphic logo-emblazoned ‘T-shirts’ on display were made from marble, laboriously carved by Seton to replicate the soft fall of fabric on coat hangers.

This illusion is characteristic of Seton’s marble and synthetic stone works, all of which play on audience perception of surface and materiality.

The tension between perception and reality in his work is a tangible manifestation of the contradiction between the traditional, and highly specialised, art of stone masonry and his contemporary subject matter.

The concept of illusion is most highly realised in the surrealist 2008 series ‘On Hold’ – in which a range of objects are hidden from view beneath blank, draped material.

In this series, it is not only the materiality of the work that is deceptive, but also the subject matter itself – the lawnmowers, prams and cars nothing more than ideas, memories or possibilities.

Seton graduated from the College of Fine Arts, UNSW (COFA) in 1998, and has exhibited in a range of exhibitions since, including Sculpture by the Sea.

Alexander Seton
alexanderseton.com

Images courtesy Alexander Seton website.