Martin Boyce A Bronze Owl, 2018
Jesmonite, steel, oiled wood
80,6 x 60,7 x 4 cm
The work consists of three material elements – an oiled wooden board attached to a Jesmonite panel in a steel frame. Jesmonite is a composite material, a lightweight alternative to cast concrete. It often bears traces of the mold, adding a texture of another material. Boyce has used Jesmonite for a number of years, sometimes referring to architectural details of specific buildings, yet for these new works the material remains in the background, its surface changed through various manipulations.
This series of altered, found wooden components on Jesmonite panels all carry titles with references to birds: these can obliquely refer to concrete objects or depictions of birds in the artist's life or invoke abstract and at times playful expressions.