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Lee GILMOUR
Under the Pressure of Time 2020
Mixed media
20 x 20 x 25 cm
1 – 30 June 2023
Gallery Shop
Benalla Art Gallery presents a selection of functional clocks by artist Lee Gilmour in the Gallery Shop throughout June. Gilmour describes himself as “a maker of clocks, lamps and other curious things”, drawing inspiration from objects scavenged from his surroundings and exploring ways they fit together and can be reused. In a world where disposable products, fast fashion, and single use items play only a fleeting period in our lives, Time Honoured State of the Art will seek to slow time so we may ponder on the item, to recollect its past and make a personal connection to where we were, what we were doing and how much water has passed under the bridge since their heyday.
Gilmour explains, “Each piece is made up from now defunct equipment that was once at the forefront of technology, part of what made it new and exciting. These are married with a common theme of horology. The earliest adapted chronographs on display are old Nixie Valves updated on Arduino circuits. These 1950s relics now glow with 21st century technology — handcrafted valves energised by mass produced circuitry. Now mostly obsolete these once proud items have been discarded or merely used for ornamental purposes.”
“It is as part of every community that we have somewhere to dispose of our unwanted items — colloquially referred to as the ‘tip’ or ‘dump’. These words do not evoke anything more within us than that of waste. ‘Resource recovery’ is the new buzzword for progressive communities, and the intent is all that is destined for landfill is given a chance for a second life. A re-use, another purpose or even a stay of execution. The exhibition will hopefully stimulate the mind to reassess what we are about to trash and allow another to find as a treasure.”
Currently based in the Mallee, Gilmour has spent the last decade or so in a range of improvised studios in different locations, amassing and assembling a collection of found materials into unique sculptural time pieces. Recently described as a ‘contraptionist’, Gilmour’s artistic aim is to give new meaning to something that has been discarded, and to turn an ‘off cut’ into a ‘must have’ and to play around with the perceived use of an object. Gilmour enjoys experimenting with combinations of materials, marrying rust with polished surfaces, mixing items that would never have met in their original form.
Gilmour has exhibited in a number of group shows, including Forrest on the Nullarbor, a permanent installation at Forrest Airport WA (2018-present); The 100 Kilometre Art Exhibition, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange NSW (2017); Sculptures in the Garden, Rosebury Winery, Mudgee NSW (2016); and The 2800 Show, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange NSW (2016).
Commercial Shows Little Desert Motorcycles and Guitars, Rainbow VIC (2022-present); Sweet & Unique (2016-present); Galvanised Millthorpe NSW (2014-2016), and more.
All works in the Gallery Shop are available for purchase from Benalla Art Gallery,
or by contacting the Gallery on: T 03 5760 2619 or gallery@benalla.vic.gov.au