In Our Own Image

In Our Own Image is an exhibition about cultural diversity, and the way that diversity can be drawn together within the framework of the human figure. It is not a ‘history’ exhibition but rather a form of anthology: an imaginative selection of the finest small-scale sculptural images held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia. This exhibition continues the Gallery's commitment to providing widespread access to the best works in the National Collection through a program of travelling exhibitions.

Figurative art is the linchpin of the great art traditions of the world. With the exception of Islamic art — which specifically excludes the figure — self-images have been, and continue to be, of fundamental importance to the religious, political, social and artistic activities of the world's people. Even the inexorable progression of abstraction that has characterised the art of the twentieth century has failed to eclipse the relevance and accessibility of the figure in art.

The humane nature of the sculptures in this exhibition, whether they are allegorical or realistic, gives them a special power to elicit a personal response and to evoke the culture in which they were born. Regardless of language, religion or stylisation, self-images provide a portrait of social values which carry across time and culture while still retaining their meanings — they are the most accessible and popular of all art forms.

The possibility that you might recognise a facet of yourself in one of these works of art, and use this connecting thread of recognition to gain a fuller understanding of both your own culture and those of other societies and times, is an important aspect of this exhibition. It is not necessarily an educative, lineal history that we are seeking to expose, but rather an illuminating journey full of unexpected tangential connections, personal memories and a sense of wonder at the immediacy and power of the artist's skill.

Contained within the works in the exhibition are a range of moral beliefs, emotions, physical states and ceremonial purposes. From the emotions of grief and compassion within Inge King's memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto to the grace of Charles Douglas Richardson's The cloud and the religious ecstasy of Buddha 'calling the Earth to witness', these sculptures have the ability to communicate and affect. Sometimes an emotional response is gained through the empathy of a shared experience; often there is a sense of surprise that a work made at such a distance from our own cultural background can have such relevance to us in the here and now.

The ceremonial aspect of many of these works reflects the importance that most societies place on self-images for both religious and secular occasions. ‘And God created man in his own image’ seems to be a statement characterising most of the world's religions. There are images of the god to be worshipped, images of holy followers to be revered, devotional figures made as an act of penance and prayer, and works that portray biblical scenes and characters.

Secular commemorative sculptures, from sports awards to war memorials, are largely figurative and continue to be the most common expression of symbolic or momentous acts and occasions. Ranging from portraits of loved ones to trophies of war, commemorative sculptures are made to celebrate and to consecrate, criticise and condemn, or simply as an aide-mémoire. Whatever the specific religious or secular contexts for the creation of a sculpture, its ceremonial appeal is that of a physical object, an art that is solid, truthful and functional.

For artists, and particularly sculptors throughout the ages, the figure has also been the principal vessel to express moral and physical states; how the artist perceives and reflects the world. From the patience and loyalty embodied in Emile-Antoine Bourdelle's Penelope to the schizophrenic duality and violence of Bruce Armstrong's Trickster— physical composition, allegorical meanings and truth to materials can all be called upon to examine the human condition.

Of no less importance than the content or meaning of a piece of sculpture are the physical attributes of the work itself — what it is made from, its weight, balance, form and finish. To make or appreciate sculpture one must be able to respond to form in three dimensions. Not only must the composition be balanced from all directions but the space around and within the work should also be given equal visual ‘weight’. Unlike the two-dimensional arts of painting, drawing and printmaking, sculpture relies for its existence on the space which it displaces, how it sits within that space.

Because of its three-dimensional exposure a sculpture must have no beginning or end; it should be visually inexhaustible; nothing can be hidden from view. The invisible structure of a sculpture needs to be resolved, balanced and animated for the exterior to flourish. In sculpture the hand and the mind of the artist must be perfectly balanced. For many cultures the human form has provided the ultimate test of this balance.

From the classical Greek ideal of the naked human body carved in marble to the wooden fertility charms of Western Africa, and through all that comes in between, the figure in sculpture finally depends upon the material from which it is made for its physical presence. Whether it is bronze, stone or wood that is painted, carved or cast, at some point the material of sculpture asserts itself and takes on a life of its own. Truth to materials and the animation of the inert substance of sculpture must at some stage be the artist's pre-eminent concern.

This exhibition shows that from Japan to Ghana, Thailand to Paris, from Bathurst Island to Sydney, the human figure has been formed and re-formed into a myriad of guises and cultural connotations. The need to fashion our own image has been central to the development of the human consciousness and to the evolution of art, architecture, religion and politics. It is hoped that In Our Own Image will go some way towards illuminating this profound relationship and our own position within it.