It is called ‘Daddy, I had a Bad Dream’. The smaller figure (child) is shadowed by the bad dream and is looking towards the larger figure (adult). What we see that the smaller figure does not many bad dreams the larger and older figure has had.
Sculpting with Paint
Sometimes I sculpt with paint. It is a technique I borrowed from charcoal drawing. You add and then take away to bring out the forms and shapes you want. Instead of using charcoal and a putty eraser I used paint and pallet knives.
Like many of my works this was not planned, it emerged. The larger figure came first and then the smaller. As the paint dried I gouged out the nightmares, exposing the brighter layers of paint underneath.
The tricky part was making the smaller figure look up with the right gesture and pose. When you know what the piece is going to become you are no longer searching. All you need is the balance. When you get that balance follow it as best you can.
Resilience
The theme is about growing up. Learning what you do now is not what you used to do. You can hold back a whole lot more than you used to. Resilience, hopefully, comes with experience.
You can read this image in the negative. It can be a representation of the emotional stress we gain over time. Though I do believe that this is negated by the open arms of both child and adult.
Art is interpreted by the reader. Though the readers conclusions also reveal the reader. I choose to see hope and resilience in this image.
Phillip Hall has been too long in Melbourne to see AFL in the same light as those back in Fremantle. East Fremantle born and bred, he would love to see the Dockers back in the eight. But would settle for just beating West Coast twice a year.
