Work by Louise Weaver

Curated by Sally Couacaud, 'After Nature' was exhibited at Lake Macquarie City Gallery and included works by artists Lauren Berkowitz, Rosemary Laing, Janet Laurence and Weaver. Diamond Mask (Ain't too Proud to Beg) 2004 was one of several works exhibited by Weaver exploring notions of nature and landscape. Weaver uses sculpture to explore nature's way of working rather than its appearance: through re-growth, decay, metamorphosis and transformation. Her work added a challenging element to a display of the diverse concerns and metaphorical strategies the artists utilised to challenge the imagination with layers to navigate towards appreciating the complexities embedded in the term 'nature'. Weaver's world is a realm that incorporates the real and the imaginary, nature and culture. Her creatures have their beginnings in nature, being cast directly from real animals using the high density foam moulds of taxidermy, but then, like a taxidermist run amok, Weaver abandons their natural skins, instead adorning her creatures with customised coverings of exquisite and fabulous artifice.' (Sally Coucaud). In all of the featured works Weaver is also preserving these creatures at a fixed moment and in their final moment, suggesting that nature can be successfully protected or controlled by human intervention. Catalogue ISBN 0975071521.