June 2013: Stephanie Brockway
Stephanie Brockway transforms the Feature Area with her recent wood carving passion: “The Adventures of Tree Girl”. To quote Stephanie, “With this installation you might feel as if you’ve stumbled into a very unusual forest landscape.” The world is inhabited by a 5ft puppet/sculpture, Tree Girl herself. She is surrounded by an assortment of curious animals and elements (a salvage horse, bobble head deer & squirrel are just a few). Taxidermy eyes in some of the pieces lend a peculiar touch. All the pieces are carved from different woods, which are either salvaged or collected. “Wood is a bit of a mystery, with different grains, textures and ages, each presenting different challenges that can be unforgiving, but exciting to see what emerges within a block of wood. As the work developed I decided that Tree Girl was a muse for my own adventures with wood,” says Stephanie. Her style is primitive, naïve, with touches of urban, destruction and decay creeping in. “I seek simplicity and escapism, in a world that is too often mass produced.” Stephanie has the ability to create an intriguing world of characters, both humorous and mysterious.