Kate McCgwire creates fascinating, dark sensory sculptures by layering the feathers on a serpentine structure. These forms refer to the Mobius strips, which seem to curl and undulate inside themselves, densely and perfectly placed feathers both increase the organic quality and flow of each piece. The audience’s eyes naturally follow the feathers, just like watching the flow of a river, twisting gently in each piece, which seems to be twisting in the infinite loop or explode in a stunning burst like a frame of water bursting from a wall.
McGwire has been working with organic natural materials such as wood and bones for several years, but it is her feather sculpture that does seem to have brought her to art drawings, as they are really surprising in their workmanship and in their deep sense of power they exud. Whether it is a small sculpture, it is wrapped in its own small bell jars in a huge interior installation, and the huge feathers needed to make each sculpture are surprising.
For example, the three-meter-long sculpture “Corvid” uses more than 10,000 feathers and spends years collecting enough feathers!
This constant effort to find material requires McGwire’s network of sources in her England country throughout the country’s feathers. She saw this collaboration between herself and feather collectors who helped her become an integral part and inspired her creative process. She is also one of the few artists who actually recognize not only her contributors and assistants, but also publicly thank them on her website! One of the few things she actually didn’t choose to talk about too much was her actual construction of the sculpture. While feathers are helping with the aid of abilities, McGwire alone conceptualized and created the actual infrastructure, she was silent and reluctant to talk about it more. This makes the work a little mysterious and seductive to make people excited.
