Sculpture

Carrara marble is the stone made famous through its use in Renaissance statuary. This art historical association defines the context of Selman’s work, and much of his recent output has been concerned with exploring the contemporary artistic potential of marble. His practice places him in an unusual position, utilising a process that has remained relatively unchanged over millennia to produce works with modern relevance.

With Sculpture, Selman has recovered found objects from the streets of Auckland, investigating the debris of the city as the subject for his work. Through rendering this discarded detritus in marble, Selman’s work becomes site-specific, embodying and responding to a particular time and place. The contrast between the worthless objects he selects and the valuable marble he uses in his work emphasises the incongruities between his work and the values of Western society.

The appearance of marble immediately connotes the universally recognised sculpture of Michelangelo and Bernini, which in turn references the sculpture of the ancient Romans. Selman’s place in this historical continuum is a key theme. For him, marble is “always new”, liberated from the burden of its own history and full of potential.

Through its historical use, marble has come to be associated with mythology and monuments. Selman playfully subverts this tradition by using marble to depict common and objectionable objects with the same illusory quality prized by Renaissance masters. These unexpected objects—crushed cans, cartons and bottles—are faithfully modelled; however, the weight and hardness of the stone and the removal of imperfections and identifying marks of the object prevents them from becoming entirely illusionistic. His works become emblematic rather than representational, emphasising the juxtaposition of ‘the domestic’ with the Classical.