Sculpture at Scenic World 2019
Turf Wars, 2018
Cementatious composite, synthetic turf, dimensions variable. Image: Keith Maxwell
Viewers are encouraged to bring their own interpretation to this installation, as it has layers of meaning depending on the standpoint.
Turf Wars draws attention to the fragmentation of land and the concept of ownership. Natural habitats are broken up, divided, fenced and tamed into synthetic environments of our liking, where we strive for ownership. However, while we create boundaries around our own precious patches of ‘turf’, others are being turfed from their ancestral homelands.
While fragmentation is inherent in so many forms, from partnerships, to families, to communities, ethnic groups, countries, and nations, a vestige of the relational whole remains. Division and establishment of boundaries and fences is a constant, however the pieces, while separating and disparate, still show the remains of connection to a greater whole.
As children, we are drawn to putting puzzle pieces together. As we grow, the complexity and scale of the puzzles increase, however the desire to create order from chaos remains. We can grow apart, be torn apart, but collective memory and the desire for wholeness persists in our consciousness.