Tim Silver

The multidisciplinary practice of Sydney-based artist Tim Silver is inextricably hinged on time, both conceptually and materially. Working across sculpture, photography and installation, Silver explores the interface between time and decay, particularly in relation to the human body. His sculptures are often made from entropic materials, such as fairy floss and putty, which begin to decompose from the moment of their assembly. With no skeletal structure or armature for support, they warp, crumble and sag with the forces of gravity, and the viewer is confronted with a linear reflection of their own aging process.

By photographically capturing these stages of decay, the artist presents us with a microcosmic image of our own inevitable trajectory towards death. There is a paradoxical beauty that emerges from within the warped and crumbled forms, precipitating a poignant awareness of the preciousness and fragility of human life.

Silver’s works are held in many important collections including Artbank, Sydney; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Australia Council for the Arts; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia; Ten Cubed Collection, Melbourne and University of Queensland Art Museum Collection, Brisbane. He has been awarded various grants and residencies, including the 2008 Asialink Residency Grant, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Australia Council New Work Grant (2006). Selected solo shows include Tim Silver, Ten Cubed Collection, Melbourne (2013);The Tuvuluan Project, BREENSPACE, Volta NY, New York (2009) and The Tuvaluan Project, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne (2008). Recent group exhibitions include Seven Points (Part Two): Daniel Boyd, Newell Harry, Kate Mitchell, Tim Silver, Embassy of Australia, Washington DC (2013); We used to talk about love, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (2013); Parallel Collisions, 2012 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide and I-lands, Kunsthallen brandts, Copenhagen, Denmark (2009).

Tim Silver is represented by Sullivan + Strumpf Fine Art