Tumulus (2021)
Earth, ultra-flat enamel paint and polymer emulsion
The earthwork Tumulus is a negotiation between artwork and landscape. An accumulation of biomatter arranged in a random modular configuration, individual components cluster and conglomerate to form a multitudinous whole that represent tumuli (ancient mounds of earth and stones traditionally raised over graves). Tumulus is a cyclic signifier of life and death, a marker that memorialises the detritus contained in the graves underneath them. More than mere imitators of nature, the mimetic pods aim at a more authentic and holistic rendering of an artworks’ relation to local habitat and function.
About the Artist
Mark Booth lives on Wonnarua and Wiradjuri Country in the Upper Hunter Valley. He has an Master’s degree from UNSW. Mark has exhibited at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Conny Dietzschold Gallery, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre and Cementa15 in Kandos. He won the Major Award at Sculpture at Scenic World 2017 and Sculpture in the Vineyards 2013. Mark has received NSW Artists’ Grants and undertaken residences at The Armory in Sydney Olympic Park and Phasmid Studios in Berlin.
Transcription
My name is Mark Booth. The title of my artwork is Tumulus.
The earthwork Tumulus is a negotiation between artwork and landscape and consists of an accumulation of biomatter arranged in a random, modular configuration, where individual components cluster and conglomerate into a multitudinous whole. The forms represent Tumuli, which are ancient mounds of earth and stones traditionally raised over graves. Tumulus consists of a series of earth bricks or terrapods cast from Plaster Press Molds.
A mound of between a hundred to two hundred bricks will be stacked adjacent to a grave site. A pullet of colors that reflect the specific characteristics of Rookwood's terrain, for example the muted grays of tombstone and ocres of lichens, will be applied to the bricks, wedding them directly to the cemetery. Drawn from the land, these ephemeral forms would decompose if left untreated, their anti monumentality repatriating them back into the ground and rendering them an impermanent representation of the site.
However, by sealing the pods with polyurethane, their resistance to climatic conditions will prolong their longevity for the duration of the exhibition, temporarily halting the process of time. Tumulus is a cyclic signifier of life and death, a marker that memorializes the detritus contained in the graves around them. More than mere imitators of nature, the memedic pods aim at on authentic and holistic rendering of an artworks relation to local habitat and function. I hope that Tumulus will allow visitors to Rookwood the opportunity to contemplate themes of loss and mourning,
As particularly poignant motives, the installation addresses the current pandemic gripping the world on a macro level, it also represents the personal suffering and death of individuals from the virus who may be located in the cemetery.