Tom Risley
QLD 1947-2010
Blue Picture with Austin Truck Cab 1987
Mixed media on wood
185 x 493.5 cm
BCEC Art Collection
A lifelong resident of Far North Queensland, Tom Risley was best known for his large scale, sculptural and two-dimensional assemblages, characterised by their use of found materials. An inveterate scavenger, Risley would comb the coastline and surrounds for driftwood, scrap metal, unwanted domestic items and other man-made detritus.
At nearly 5 metres long, the scale and composition of the artwork is determined by a segment of a rusting blue truck. 2 long pieces of driftwood form the sides of the vehicle, while a mattress spring stands in for the flat bed of the truck.
Although a self-taught artist, Risley absorbed the developments of twentieth-century art history and this is evident through the work’s synthesis of contrasting materials, forms and multiple perspectives within a single picture plane.
Blue Picture with Austin Truck Cab can be viewed on Mezzanine Level.