As mentioned here, I purchased Snowman at the Philip Hammial exhibition. Yesterday was time to collect him, and we took the long way home to Sydney – along the Escort Way from Orange to Cudal, then to Canowindra and the bright yellow canola fields to Cowra, and on down the Lachlan Valley Way to Yass; then up the Hume to Sydney (a round trip of about 800 km). Here’s the landscape around Cudal on the Escort Way:
And a shot as Snowman and I pass through Yass in the car:
And below is Snowman, happy (I think) to be home and ready for hanging. Despite the name, I’m starting to think Snowman’s a girl.
So who is Hammial? Adam Atkin in Cordite has already asked the question, and provided an eloquent answer (in relation to his poetry):
Certainly not the authentically insane, but the friend and mentor of those who are, and whose art keeps true madness from destroying them. The poet Hammial is also the bete noir of those devils whose madness and mad visions he writes about so compellingly, who’s anti-lives consist in the recruitment of armies of young boys drugged into a frenzy of killing.
Philip Hammial
Snowman
wood, plaster, mixed media
91 x 30 cm
Tagged as:
Art,
Outsiders,
Philip Hammial
As mentioned in a recent post, Creature Comforts is the latest exhibition by Philip Hammial (closing today at the Orange Regional Gallery). I visited the show yesterday, and was blown away by the vitality and abundance of the works. Here’s a view of part of the jostling exuberance on both walls and floor.
These works for me are what outsider art is about. I quickly and deeply connected with the strange creatures before me, and through this to the artist and his interests. I came away feeling empathy for these creatures – and felt they had evoked a reaction from deep layers of my psyche. Here were fellow travellers, intimates… Below is The Capitalist:
Evidently Hammial works in a state of trance in his art making, and this may be a significant factor in the energy of the works. Here (left to right) are Juan, Hollow Man and Jean Claude:
And here (left to right) Tiger Hunter, Purse Snatcher and Isadora:
And (almost) finally, Omar and Ivan:
I look forward to when I can collect Snowman, a purchase I made at the show. Finally, here’s Escape from chain gang, Guardian angel (detail) and Prince Tut:
Tagged as:
Art,
Outsiders,
Philip Hammial
