Opening 21 October, 6-8pm
Melbourne-based craft practitioner pays tribute to Scottish road-building quest.
Malcolm (Calum) MacLeod B.E.M. was a resourceful, determined and self-made man of the Hebridean Island of Raasay, Scotland. Out of frustration at the local authorities’ neglect of the task, he spent ten years (1964-1974) constructing a road with little more than simple hand tools and a wheelbarrow. Timothy McLeod is a Victorian practitioner with a deep respect and appreciation for wood. The lives of these two men from vastly different times and places will be drawn together in McLeod’s Stories through the Barrows.
Inspired by his own visit to the Isle of Raasay and Roger Hutchinson’s book Calum’s Road, McLeod has created three handmade wooden wheelbarrows, each with a story relating to the life and work of Calum MacLeod. Ruination, for example, is a wheelbarrow without legs, the barrow lying on its side to symbolise the ruination of Raasay before Calum’s road-building quest provided a means of access to his isolated community.
On three separate occasions, the artist will re-enact the journey taken by MacLeod, from locations that are 1¾ miles from Craft Victoria – the same length as Calum’s road. His re-enactment will be motivated by MacLeod’s weight of duty and determination to achieve his goal.
Timothy McLeod was born in Western Victoria. He lives in Melbourne where he occupies himself in a small workshop with a few well-tuned machines, hand tools and wood. This enthusiasm for wood is encapsulated in his eye for subtle detail and fine hand skills.
Stories through the Barrows will be opened by Matthew Harding, artist and designer.
Download pricelist here
Photography: Richard Brockett
