Archive

he context in which pieces were created in my teenage years allows a revealing insight into my consciousness at this time. Much of the creative zeal that filled me with absolute joy came from my grandparents'/uncles´ land. My imagination was so strong that I could block out the fact I was in rural Australia surrounded by magnificent mountains, sparse eucalypt forests and golden grassy savannah covered hills and visualize Egypt in microcosm. The land was the home to eagles, snakes, scorpions and even scarab beetles rolling their balls of dung. This collection of fauna coupled with the "sacred cows" also sharing the property did not make it hard to imagine Egypt. In particular, the scarab beetles are native to Egypt and they were introduced into Australian rural areas to break up the animal dung produced by our primary industries - not to inspire the symbolic journey of the solar globe as in Egyptian mythology. And as for those grassy hills, they would sway and ripple in a gentle breeze and truly looked like shifting sands in a dune landscape. Little gullies that cut imposing grooves in the hilly landscape became the wadis of the valley of the kings and queens as known in Egypt. There were over a thousand acres of empire in the beginning that were sub divided into territories and mini cities. Each "province" had its own special character and I tried with minimal resources to construct something that felt like Egyptian civilisation. Most of the structures I built were nothing more than carefully placed natural stone echoing the ruins of deir el medina in western Thebes/Waset. Occasionally some perfect brick-like stones would reveal themselves to be used as facing stones on my small pyramids or temple enclosures. Over time an impressive build up of artworks created on and off site began to add another dimension to the atmosphere of the land. It was wonderful to stumble across a half buried statue or relief fragment that had been forgotten or had washed out of a poorly constructed pet tomb antechamber.

nfortunately, all of my early work prior to 1983 has been lost, buried or drowned, however, much still rests in situ awaiting rediscovery. The three small pyramids that were made in 1986,1988 and 1989 still contain the artworks created for the burials of my pets. I have plans to open them at some time in the future so I can look at the long forgotten artwork of my youth and observe the progression.

Cliff sculptures 1986. Sandstone, Solitude, Sphinx and Sanity best describe the experience I felt when I began carving these larger than life size heads in my own version of the valley of the kings. I was fifteen years old and thought it was time to consolidate the empire with a building program that would delight anybody who happened to stumble across it in the future. I do not recommend using wood carving tools on sandstone but this indeed was what I used day after day during the 1986 Easter holidays until I had created these very special works in poor quality sandstone. Two years later they were gone. The largest head dislodged and shattered into oblivion. Only three photographs were ever taken. This is one of them.

Isis caressing Pharaoh. 1994. This is my favourite raised relief from the early nineties and features the great mother goddess nurturing the Pharaoh Seti the 1st. I also carved this same design on a larger than life size composition in 1995, complete with full headdress in sunken relief.

Osiris - painted sandstone fragment. 1991. During the early nineties many individual rarities and experiments were created and sold, such as this fine piece depicting the god Osiris(Assar). It is with deep regret that many pieces made during this time were not photographed. I was literally carving out my very existence and photography was a luxury. I hope you can see the surface texture of this portrait as I remember it being ever so meticulously prepared to achieve ancient realism.

Gallery of faces: This photograph shows an assortment of fragmentary facial portraits from the dawn of my time as a sculptor until 1998 and still only represents a portion of my work in this category.

Sarcophagus: The sarcophagus was the large, usually rectangular vessel that would house the mummy case/s. These cases could also be rectangular boxes or anthropoid -mummiform . This example from 1994 was carved and painted for Senwosret……..the name shared by a great ruler of the Egyptian middle kingdom as well as my pet gold fish which was mummified wrapped and bandaged, put in a coffin within another to finally be placed here in this elaborate sarcophagus. The goddess Isis spreads her protective wings amongst hieroglyphics that invoke a safe passage to an aquarium in the hereafter.

		Mummy mask: 1988. This fragment is all that remains of the once complete life size mask that I created after seeing my first Egyptian exhibition in 1988. I was already deeply involved creating art works for my kingdom and building small rock temples when "Gold of the Pharaohs" toured Australia. It was the first time modern Egypt bestowed such a magnificent collection to tour our country. It was designed to coincide with world expo 88 and debuted in my hometown of Brisbane where it then toured nationally. We have only had one other comparable tour "Life and death under the Pharaohs" in 1999 which this time thanks to the state museum, included an interactive display of my best work. During the months of this tour I carved the masters for Akhenaton-form of a sphinx and the eye of Horus which have been added to the range and are available in the sales department.

	Anubis/Anpu. Here are a few portraits of my first favourite Egyptian god. The large standing genii was carved in 1997 while the small portrait bust visible on the table emerged from the workshop in 1993 followed a year later by a larger than life size version featured on the extreme right of the photograph.

		Harasphes/Herishef. 1991. This piece marked a turning point in my workmanship and gave me the confidence to continue perfecting it. At first glance it appeared to me to be Amun in the form of a ram, however more research revealed to me the importance of knowing the provinence in which the original carvings were excavated. The faiyum oasis was revealed to be the locale of Harasphes as a god to be worshipped presiding over lakes and water.

Ptah-may and Tiy. The jewellers of pharaoh.1995. This is one of my favourite pieces, displaying a very antiquated surface texture and minimal paint work that evokes an existing fragment of late 18th dynasty date.

Akhenaton. These three drawings are from the year 1989 which reflect the Akhenaton fever that was infiltrating my life at this stage. By the mid nineties the fever had subsided and I was able to open the doors of my mind to a myriad of Ancient Egyptian subject matter. I still have a very special place for Akhenaton and the characters surrounding this beautiful yet tumultuous period, and it is with utmost reverence that I look upon the works of the ancient sculptors from the city of the horizon.

Akhenaton and Nefertiti. 1998. This was the first panel carved for a large cubic Egyptian fireplace that required six panels in all to complete the overall design. The figures on this panel were carved half- life size and represent the king and queen honouring the sun god Aton with gifts. Based loosely on a famous relief from the Akhenaton era, I modified the design for sheer symmetry, enlarging the queen that was once trailing behind the king half his size and facing the same direction. This is a unique composition that allowed a rare opportunity to create a large work with an emphasis on design.

		Bast 1993. The domesticated cat was the sacred animal of the goddess Bast or Bastet as she is also known. These votive carvings were chiselled to honour my own cat Tadukhippa and were placed in the cracks of a rocky ledge near the summit of Wild horse mountain. Among other artworks to be found on the mountain include images of Thoth, Ra and Anubis.

Thutmose III. 2002. This photograph shows a work in progress as the features of the great Thutmose begin to focus with each delicate carving stroke. My intention is to recreate in miniature the burial mask of this king that was lost to history as ancient robbers violated his tomb and contents. I have arrived at the current level of completion by observing the portraiture extant in his many surviving statues and translating this into the standard burial mask format. Only two pharaohs burial masks have transcended the ages, that of Tutankhamun and Psusennes 1st, and both of these employ the striped nemes head cloth crown which I have also adopted as a likely choice for the recreation.

Easter Island Moai: My love affair with Easter island reached fever pitch in 1994 when I began carving several Moai as displayed here. Loving the colossal aspect of the Egyptian experience makes it pleasurable to recognise the workmanship and devotion in other ancient cultures.

Kameron Rieck, Artist and Sculptor