Artist Profile
A fascination with space as a medium is evident in works by Australian artist, Tony Twigg. Often referring to his art works that are created with enamel paint on timber as “constructions”, his lattice-like works show his attentiveness to the space that surrounds structure. During his last decade spent travelling through Asia, Tony's work has developed into an engagement with objects, as he describes them, 'objects found beside the road'. He feels that he can read the language of these objects that crosses the national and cultural boundaries of our region. Most of his works incorporate found objects or found materials and he readily acknowledges the hand of an anonymous collaborator in their making. He sees truth in his found materials that he says, "are facts that come after the facts of history; they are the facts of life".

Tony Twigg studied painting in Australia and holds a Master of Arts Degree in Visual Art from the College of Fine Art, Sydney. As his work developed he incorporated elements of film, video and performance into his installations. “Learning to Swim" presented at The Art Gallery of New South Wales and "A Shadow in our Tree" at the Queensland Art Gallery both developed historical narratives that he also told in his short films, notably "A Passion Play" that represented Australia at the Cannes Film Festival. When Tony began exhibiting in Manila in 1996 his work was abstracted. He continues living in both cities and in 2005 he began exhibiting with TAKSU. Since then his work has been seen in group and solo shows in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
 

Artist Statement
My work begins as a drawing that fragments space into positive and negative. As a work progresses it's divided parts interact with the vacant space of the wall in a way that reflects the given location within my work.  I feel the need to apply colour to the surface of a completed piece with thin layers of paint. They settle in a way that reconciles the surface with time and gravity, the parameters of our physical world. This exhibition, made for Singapore was built in Sydney where I am able to incorporate milled tree branches into the works as "found objects". They bring a gestural element to the constructions that I feel is based in calligraphy and suggest to me that these works are the signs of an inhabited space. The title Vib-ra-fon refers to the optical energy generated by these arrangements as we move around them.

-Tony Twigg