Livewire is exactly that – bright, electrifying and ‘alive’. This vibrant addition to the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail continues Mary Louise Browne’s fascination with highlighting the intricacies and complexities of the English language. Described as a sculptor of words, Browne explores the ways that meanings in language can proliferate. In her sequential carved works she walks us step by step, word by word, through the evolution of an idea, Body to Soul, Rain to Mist, Rape to Ruin. In her neon works she makes clever, pithy comments on language and on concepts, as she investigates the sculptural material and the visual power of language.
Mary-Louise Browne’s texts are realized in a variety of materials. Those carved in stone give the appearance of commemorative or public monuments. Those in neon suggest the world of advertising. However the meaning of the inscriptions is entirely relative. The words, tropes in a language game, have a particular significance in relation to each other and to their site. In her carved doublets the text often has the appearance of gravestone inscriptions, so is fitting in its references to nature’s cycle and the inevitability of death and regeneration. The use of neon signage in her work is a direct and playful conflation of commercial and fine art practice. However Livewire is not an advertising slogan but an open ended text drawn from popular culture, its meaning multiplying as it is read. The brilliant, electric Livewire brings a smile of recognition as the nuance and layered meanings dawn.
Mary-Louise Browne graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) from Elam School of Fine Arts in 1982. She has exhibited extensively, both nationally and internationally, and is represented in major public and university collections throughout the country. Her commissioned public artworks can be seen in the Botanic Gardens, Wellington; Civic Square, Wellington; Lorne Street, Auckland CBD and Nuffield Street, Newmarket, Auckland. She currently lectures in Theory at Unitec School of Design, Auckland.
RW