THE CUT
SET ON STONE For sculptor Lucas Wearne, limestone is a beautifully malleable and versatile material he shapes into sculptures and exquisite lamps (right and bottom).
lucas wearne PROFILE
Chunks of limestone are transformed into wondrous works of art at the hand of this talented, self-taught Melbourne sculptor
How did you discover you had a skill for sculpting? I’m fortunate
that being able to think spatially has always been a strength of mine. As a kid I worked for my dad, who’s a landscape gardener and stonemason, and I picked up on how the treatment and arrangement of natural materials can affect how we experience and interact with the spaces we inhabit. You have a background in landscape design, jewellery design and furniture making — how has that led you to sculpture?
I was studying a masters in landscape architecture and worked for a few different design studios on some really interesting projects. Even though I enjoyed the work itself, I quickly realised I was much more of a hands-on person and wanted to be making as well as designing. My first taste of running a small business was when I began creating jewellery, then I moved into furniture making. I started with sculpture purely out of curiosity, drawing on the skills I’d developed through my career. After posting some images online and experiencing a strong response to them, I was motivated to keep going. Finding there was an audience for my work, I guess I just went with it. So your experience has turned out to be nicely complementary?
Yes, all of these practices have inherently sculptural elements to them, so the methods and design thinking do translate between them. I think that’s the reason I’ve been able to move back and forth between those mediums – it feels natural. Although they’re diverse fields, I’m applying the same basic concepts of shape, form and balance across the varying scales of each practice. Do you create for art or functionality? Well, I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive. I want my pieces to sit somewhere in > 42 | INSIDE OUT
WORDS LAURA BARRY PHOTOGRAPHY AMELIA STANWIX
