Iceland Landscape

by Ruminate Magazine October 31, 2018 2 Comments

Aaron McPeake's visual art "Iceland Landscape" appears in Issue No. 49: Mattering.

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AARON MCPEAKE
ICELAND LANDSCAPE

Iceland Landscape is a series of wall-hung “painting” works, depicting the topography of Icelandic volcanic landscapes. Made using an open-cast method, the oxide-hungry nature of the molten bell-bronze (20 percent tin, 80 percent copper) freezes in the open air, creating patterns and colors that look remarkably similar to satellite photographs of Iceland. Intended to be rung as well as touched, the pieces provide a novel gong quality in various pitches. As the size and weight of each piece varies considerably (between two and eleven kilograms, or five and twenty-five pounds) so too do the resulting tones comparable to the range found on a piano keyboard.

I wanted not only to accurately depict the topography and nature of volcanic landscapes, but also to give them audible and unique voices; in effect, the landscape sings. My memories of watching television footage in primary school in 1973 of the Eldfell volcano erupting in Iceland prompted me to embark on the process of making these “paintings” that ring, giving the landscapes real voices that can be extracted and heard by beholders. Notions of the disparity of time periods and their attendant understanding, from the personal to the geological, are important themes within this work.

Iceland Landscape 9, 2010. Bell-bronze. 19 x 14 inches.

Iceland Landscape 4, 2009. Bell-bronze. 12 x 9 inches.

Iceland Landscape 6, 2010. Bell-bronze. 19 x 14 inches.

Iceland Landscape 10, 2011. Bell-bronze. 19 x 14 inches.

Iceland Landscape 13, 2011. Bell-bronze. 19 x 14 inches.

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After many years working as a lighting designer for opera, ballet and theatre, Aaron McPeake lost much of his vision due to an auto-immune illness. However, this condition has helped inform his artwork, and methods of practice, which are wide-ranging. He has exhibited nationally and internationally and has completed a number of public sculpture commissions and international residencies. Recent exhibitions include venues in the UK, Spain, USA, and Australia. He has been a regular resident artist in the Bandoola Foundry Mandalay, Myanmar. www.aaronmcpeake.com

View and read the other art, stories, and poems from Ruminate's Issue 49: Mattering 

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