Mutant March
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(Published version)
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(Published version)
Date
2024
Authors
Walker, P.
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Creative work
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Abstract
A site-specific sculpture, “Mutant March” is a collection of 16 wooden sculpted forms depicting ants in various states of mutation. The sculptures ranged in size from 400mm to 3mts in length. Made with balsawood bodies and eucalyptus branch appendages, the ants were painted red and installed in the Palmer landscape across a rocky outcrop spanning approximately 30mts. The ant installation created a red line in the landscape visible from a distance, a harbinger of environmental change. The sculptures range from realistic interpretation of ant anatomy to surreal abstract forms, suggestive of future potential mutations in response to changing environmental circumstances. Large in scale, some with eyes, some not, multiple leg and antenna configurations, two heads, a variety of thorax and abdomen shapes and body parts suited for adaptation to anticipated varied climatic conditions in the future. Spiralling drill shaped bodies, large jaws and pincers for cutting and digging, indicating mutations for surviving a hotter, drier landscape.