Phil Neary
Buddha Bell
2006
Port Orford cedar, bronze, stainless steel
Phil Neary was the Senior Scholar of his BFA year at Elam and has been working as a sculptor since graduating Master of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) in 1998. Greer Twiss and Christine Hellyar were his teachers; Brancusi and Noguchi his influences.
His work often includes current social content and focuses on aspects of communication. It is usually informed by his sense of humour.
The Brick Bay Buddha Bell is the result of Neary weaving many ideas together. It has a formal source in ancient Greek art as well as in Buddhism. The formal and cultural elements of Buddhism interest the sculptor. He has researched the history of the representation of Buddha and has studied the traditional techniques of early Buddhist sculpture.
The Buddhist Bell of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) has been a particular focus for Neary. Weighing more than 2000 kilograms it is over 2 metres high and has a rim diameter of 1.3 metres. The ringing of the bell summoned devotees to prayer. With the striking of the bell ‘all evil doers and all sufferers were called to cease their activities’.* Therefore the artists who cast bells were undertaking an act of great service.
Taking this as his starting point, Neary has built on the work he did for his Mythamatics exhibition in 1998. The vase shape that he used there is developed into Buddha Bell, which is intended as a signifier, a restful object. The outline of its bell shape is echoed by six individually cast small bronze Buddhas each with its own identity and attributes. They sit at varying levels on the bell which is shaped like an upturned calyx-krater, one of four ancient Greek kraters which were used primarily for mixing wine with water. The background vista of Brick Bay vineyard acts as a conceptual reference to the Athenian wine vase shape.
Dr. Robin Woodward
*Artist’s statement Brick Bay 2006
