Keith Bender

About the work

‘Ainslie contour’ is a weathering steel sculptural representation Mt Ainslie contour lines reflecting Keith Bender’s close connection with place developed during his formative years growing up in Canberra the Griffin designed ‘ideal democratic city’.
Connection is depicted through curved forms situated in Bowen Park creating a dialogue across the Lake between otherwise invisible contour lines and the outlines of the surrounding natural landforms and Contour 556.

‘Ainslie contour’s’ surface acts as both a barometer for the environment surrounding the work and a metaphor for the constantly changing landscape. Shadows cast by the forms add an ephemeral dimension.

The scale of the work is bodily on one level allowing the viewer to choose a pathway around or through the work, to quietly contemplate and consider the contours of the natural surroundings formed hundreds of millions of years ago and Canberra’s original inhabitants. How do the sympathetic or otherwise contours and forms constructed by recent arrivals over the last hundred or so years and our current way of life compare with what came before?

About the artist

Keith Bender is an emerging sculptor based inthe Canberra region who explores his passion for the environment throughassembled, constructed and cast forms. In 2016, Bender installed the first contemporary sculpture at NorwoodPark, Mourning in Time and Space. He receivedseveral Emerging Artist Support Scheme Awards on graduating from Art School in2016 and the CAPO B2B Magazine Award in 2017.

www.keithbenderart.com