12 Oct 2012

The Royal Cornwall Museum: Random Precision

Seamus Moran
Random precision

Since 2001 Seamus Moran has been creating sculptures by making moulds of knots from dead trees which he found in a Cornish wood. He has discovered a pallette of unique three dimensional shapes which can be reproduced and combined to offer limitless possibilities. They are cast in a mix of resin & iron and then joined together to make larger more intricate objects, creating an organic feel to his sculptures which makes them look almost as if they have been grown rather than made.

The work explores the possibilities of producing complex forms from smaller more simple elements and is partly driven by his interest in natural selection and the mechanics of life, and partly by his love of Renaissance Catholic church bling. Like three-dimensional Rorschach ink-blots they touch the subconscious perceptions which lie buried in the heart of humanity, where pattern recognition and associations found in naturally occurring objects and the use of them as art are the first steps toward cultural iconography, ritual & belief.

Some of the pieces are made by fitting multiple copies of an individual knot against themselves, producing the most unexpected fractal-like compound curves. The form of these pieces is dictated by the way the knots sit against each other. He sometimes uses simple mathematical formulae to direct the addition of further castings to these pieces in a way which mimics nature. The results are often uncannily shell-like and skeletal.

They are mainly finished with a rust patina, which complements their ravaged decayed texture creating the unsettling beauty of something part natural/part man-made. As well as knots the use of nails, feathers, leather, brambles,chains and castings of skulls & crabshells has gradually been introduced to the mix over the years

His assemblage work is all about decontextualising the raw materials and presenting them in an unexpected way. Eagle eyed visitors to the show will soon spot multiple casts of otherwise unique objects repeated many times within the same sculpture, and reappearing in others. Each sculpture has it's own unique identity however, and it becomes clear that Moran uses a visual alphabet of a couple of dozen elements which he combines and repeats in a way which parallels the construction of written words, with similar endless possibilities.

The pieces themselves have an unsettling feel to them, steeped in erosion, decay and ritual and looking like the biology of a parallel universe, they are spiky and skeletal with sexual and religious overtones.

This exhibition features his sculptures from 2001 to present and runs from October 13th 2012 until January 26th 2013. The private view is on October 12th.