equine sculpture Shona Nunan
Shona Nunan ARTIST www.shonanunan.com info@shonanunan.com
As an artist. I started off creating the horse and rider as a symbol of the journey of life. To me, the horse represents the outer expression of ourselves, the vehicle that takes our dreams into a perceivable reality. The rider is the dreamer, the one who steers the horse on the journey. For life to be enriched and powerful, man and horse have to be in tune together, there has to be an at-onement. Many of my equestrian sculptures are about that unity and nobility of the two in harness together, at-one, and in the different stages of the journey; Rest, Arrival, Awakening, Joy. Until relatively recently I have studied horses from a distance, preferring my separate identity as an artist observer. Although I am still artist/observer, I feel a revelation in me that has liberated me forever from my separateness. A friend of ours has a small ranch in the Tuscan mountains that houses a beautiful Arabian horse, called Nisan, and two semi-wild mountain horses called Romon and Tramp. There is also a larger ranch next door with ten other mountain horses that I have come to know. The revelation has come from the pure sweet spirit of Nisan and the hardy stubborn and proud Romon. These two horses, with their amazing willingness to communicate, have made me aware of the rider in connection with them.To be a great leader, the rider must be intuitive and hear the messages from the horse. Together they are absolutely equal and it would be an arrogance to assume the superiority of humans. So for me, that unity of the two in harness is like an understanding that I truly want to know for my art, because this is life. To succeed in a great life, one has to be in harmony with all of life and to bow down before it, to hear its messages, and then the journey has its ultimate completion.
Nisan and Shona during a winter in Tuscany
Nisan Bronze marquette for large work
The toughness and freedom of the Camargue horses are a great inspiration.
Arrival in the Australian studio
Arrival plaster for bronze in the Australian studio (previous page) 230 x 150 x 70 cm
Arrival marquette bronze edition of 8 60.5 x 39.5 x 16 cm
Joy bronze marquette
Rest bronze marquette
Dream bronze, unique cast 34.5 x 13.5 x 23 cm
The Quiet 2004 bronze edition of 8 127 x 115 x 51 cm
Placing the Moon Huon Pine 96 x 44 x 73 cm
Horse and Rider marquette
The artist working on the wax original
The Ride commission for Kate Herd
Awakening bronze unique collection of Castlemaine Regional gallery Australia
Horse bronze edition of 6 103 x 54 x 32 cm
Manifestation Art Fair Melbourne bronze unique 269 x 177 x 79 cm
Light bronze unique cast 42 x 49 x 20 cm
Shona Nunan ARTIST www.shonanunan.com info@shonanunan.com