Meet Tania McMurtry
Tania is an Irish born artist living in and working in Sydney. She recently completed her MFA Sculpture at the National Art School (2019) and was a recipient of the inaugural Harvey Galleries Graduate of Excellence Award. Tania has a public sculpture at Quarantine Station Warf and Quarantine Peace Park, Manly 2020.
Exhibiting Sculptures
Blurring The Lines (Smallest Sculpture)
Blurring The Lines is a reference to her previous work in its materiality. The burnt textures evoke tragic memories – whether from the recent bush fires or McMurtry’s personal experience of growing up amongst the bombings and burnings of Belfast during “The Troubles”. At the same time the massive beams of 100-year-old Oregon trigger reminders of the beauty of the Irish landscape and the regeneration of the Australian bush. The sliced edges have been extended around the timber, portraying a sense of fragility that blurs the line between beauty and terror.
Dimensions: 121 x 58 x 62cm
Materials: Oregon, Steel
Price: $3,200
A State of In-Betweenness (Sold)
A State of In-Betweenness is the continued exploration of McMurtry’s themes of simultaneity and identity. The shape in-between the sculpture reflects the shape seen when the wave leaves its wet mark on the sand. For McMurtry, this shape reflects a state of in-betweenness existing in the flux rather than the materiality of life; it is a fleeting moment rather than a lasting scar.
Dimensions: 178 x 75 x 62cm
Materials: Oregon, Steel
Price: $5,200
Ode to Tide (Largest Sculpture)
Ode to Tide pays homage to the rhythms and shapes in the ocean and the rhythms of life. This notion has links to the Australian Aboriginal festival, Garma which means the place where freshwater mixes with saltwater and moves on, reflecting the cultural goal of reconciliation. This idea resembles the current quest for peace and reconciliation in my childhood home in Northern Ireland.
It is also interesting to note that when saltwater meets freshwater it creates an in-between mix called halocline and is described as a vertical zone in the ocean. I like to imagine that this vertical zone mirrors the in-between space in my artwork.
Ode to Tide
Dimensions: 221 x 81 x 106cm
Materials: Oregon, Timber
Price: $4,200