International Skateboard Artist Brett Ashby Unveils 'Gods' at Broughton Hall on the Winter Solstice

‘Inner Essence’ live art and gallery will present ‘Gods’ an exhibition of new sculpture works by internationally acclaimed Melbourne artist Brett Ashby. To be unveiled during the coming Winter Solstice 2023 on Sunday 25th June, the 14 sculptures will be presented in the rolling hills of West Gippsland in the grounds of the beautiful Broughton Hall.

The creation of 'Gods' was a heavy endeavour and took the artist three and a half years to create with steel fabricator Wayne McQuilten. Ashby was selected by the Metro Tunnel, Cross Yarra Partnership in 2021 to take ownership of a slab of Bluestone taken from the tunnel project from deep below Swanston St. Following this he approached Pentridge to compliment the piece with a Volcanic basalt slab. It wasn’t until December 2022 that Ashby made the first cuts into the slabs.

“Both stones lived with me until that day, like a heavy anchor,” said Ashby, “I used a water diamond blade saw and cut them by hand into 14 stones. My intention was clear, I must raise the stones from the ground and set them free during Winter Solstice, 2023.”

This is an exciting exhibition where the fourteen, 3D sculptures will be essentially released into the wild as they are positioned in 'The Completion', a 12m gravel circle within the spectacular 1.5 hectare terraced garden. The sculptures explore the intense pleasures of being alive and what that means. The sacred positioning and geometry of the 10m rock circle make the spectator look inside one's eye, to understand that the universe is at play and offers an experience that punctures through contrast.

The sculptures will receive a traditional smoke ceremony and be set free in positive spirit byShane Clayton, from Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. There will also be a morning fire meditation, facilitated by 'Somisan' energy healer Philip Hunter followed by a musical resonance by Solana The Artist. Guests will be invited to enjoy morning tea and witness the feminine embodiment performance into stone, by award recognised sound alchemists, tantric female emotional embodiment facilitators. Lunch will be provided by The Gippsland Grazer at 1pm, with refreshments at bar prices.

Ashby's work is informed by an interest in energy, light and art history. Often displaying his response to place and space through geometry, aura and frequency. This will be a beautiful event where guests will be invited to see themselves inside the sacred geometry, 10m circle artwork and to support the awakening of the stones.

“I have created 14 steel sculptures using a welder, reo bar and flat cold steel sheets,” said Ashby.“Oil paint has been used to create universal planet-like chakra coloured circle bases, so that the ‘Gods’ have a place to land. The flat steel sheet has been punctured on one side documenting movements and energy. This performance was part of ‘My Flowers’ series which saw me perform skate and grind artworks on cold steel sheet, using a welder, grinder and flame thrower while skateboarding in a flower garden in Upper Beaconsfield. The sacred 10m rock circle sculpture provides a place of peace, reflection and activation when witnessed inside ‘The completion’ hedged circle in the spectacular terraced gardens at Broughton Hall, Jindivick.”

Brett Ashby is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, director and author from Naarm, Australia. Ashby’s art practice includes, sculpture, performance, film, painting, music, and major public commissions, framing Ashby as a prodigious figure in the contemporary art world. Ashby is recognisable for his unique methods of practice employing a skateboard or surfboard as a tool to paint aura. His work is linked through a poetic and intuitive sensitivity to the expressive potential of space, light, colour, context and materials. He is an internationally acclaimed contemporary, public and performance artist with accolades spanning the globe. Artist. Cancer survivor. Performer. Muralist. Director. Author. Singer. Ashby is many things and like all creatives isn’t confined by the construct or genre. His chosen tool is a skateboard where he creates beauty through chaos. This in some ways can be viewed as a reflection of life’s complexity and what it means to roll.

Ashby began exhibiting his work in the USA in 2009 where his photo collage artworks resonated with art collectors at Art Basal in Miami, most notably his artwork of the 44th U.S. President, Barack Obama. A graduate of RMIT his works are in collections around the world including in Texas, Berlin, Cape Town, London, Tokyo, Paris and New York.

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