Peter McFarlane Makes Wonderful Paintings And Fossil Sculptures Out Of Circuit Boards
Peter McFarlane‘s sculptures and mixed media artworks are made out of recycled materials and in his ‘Circuit Board Work’ series he turns obsolete computer bits into beautiful nightscapes and fossils. The texture of the circuit boards gives his work a unique aesthetic and his principled stand in using old materials is admirable. Here’s what he says about his use of recycle materials
The used object is just the foothold for my interrogation of understanding. It is not so much about re-cycling as it is about a poetic re-contextualizing of object and idea. It is similar geography and architecture to urban topography as well as the connection to the circuitry of the mind enhance its intrinsic metaphoric value.
To me, waste is just lack of imagination. This belief carries beyond the boundaries of my art production and permeates most aspects of my life. Most of my home and studio, and much of everything in them, is recycled. I’ve always had an epic imagination along with a driving desire to make things. Thus, used objects have pared my options down to a workable, manageable level. No object is beyond artistic merit, meaning and metaphor. So why throw it out? The materials of my work are connected intrinsically to my ideas, be they tailored beyond recognition or left as found.
And more specifically about his circuit board work:
My circuit board paintings arose from working as a computer sales consultant back in the early 1990′s. I was appalled at the computer’s speed of redundancy and was determined to extend its life. My son was born around that time and after I would come home from work and put him to bed, I would head to the studio and start to work. I painted the night scape because that was the landscape I saw. Working late in my studio I could always place myself as one of the “ignited” lights in the painting. After much trial and error, I discovered that by painting the circuit board, and re-igniting the circuits, I could create a landscape that appealed to the subjective and objective view. The circuit board, to me, is the perfect contemporary “canvas” or “platform”. It is such an integral part of the global village and contained in so many of our consumer goods that we rely upon to stay “connected” or “consumed”.
Via This Is Colossal
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