These standing songs are totems of design (Anton) and language (Jenny). They represent the art forms the two love and have lived their respective lives in and around.

Anton perfected the practice of using sand to make sculptures in his exhibition Profile of an Artist at Bowen Galleries in 2022. For that show he sculpted heads of artists based on photographs of their profiles, then had them 3D printed in black bonded sand. Keen to explore the medium further, Anton began experimenting with standing forms based on the idea of totem poles. Language sidled into his project and he asked Jenny, a poet, to be involved. She came up with phrases, three words at most, some of which feel like short poems.

We wanted to make objects that celebrated form and language, to explore the possibilities of 3D printing using sand – I’d made artists’ profiles for an earlier exhibition at Bowen Galleries and was interested in using leer forms to make sculptural work. I had the form sorted but couldn’t come up with the words, so asked Jenny if she’d like to be involved. She’s a poet and we’re friends. We worked together years ago.

I wanted to use words as a visual element in an interesting way- the leers, with their curves and angles, determine the sculptural forms. The language of sculpture and that of lyric poetry find they have something in common.

I dont describe them as totem poles exactly . We did start with the idea of totems in terms of them having a strong physical presence yet containing mysteries, a certain otherworldliness. We called them Standing Songs because they’re upright like the standing stones that exist within many traditions around the world – the menhirs of Ancient Britain, the pou whenua of Māori.

We hope people might be drawn to the shapes of the sculptures, their formal language, then in due course they might be surprised to find the words as they walk around the works. The works can be read as very short poems, or pleasing and surprising combinations of word-shapes.

Anton Hart. Jenny Bornholdt.