Tombs of thought

Burnt plantation pine, spotted gum veneer, acrylic, lights; contents selected from the Art Gallery of New South Wales art collection and the archives of Dora Ohlfsen, Weaver Hawkins and Cecil Bostock, National Art Archive, AGNSW
Purchased with funds donated by Geoff Ainsworth AM and Johanna Featherstone 2018

Brook Andrew’s sculptures Tombs of thought: metal and Tombs of though: fire host works on paper from the Art Gallery’s collection and archives; They include prints by the German artists Otto Dix and George Grosz, photographs by British photographer Francis
J Mortimer, digital reproductions of photographs by Cecil Bostock and Frank Hurtley, and material from the archives of Australian artists Cecil Bostock, Weaver Hawkins, Dora Ohlfsen and Evelyn Chapman, all of whom experiences the First World War.

Collaboration is an important part of Andrew’s practice. He weaves together personal items and artworks to create relationships between objects, memories and the fabric of history. The objects presented here reveal the harrowing realities of war and the repercussions of conflict both in Australia and internationally. The sculptures and their content offer a space to reflect upon war and conflict more generally. They also consider the idea of individual and collective memory, and the way objects are infused with their own stories.