David Cox’s studio – once a candle-making workshop – is nestled in the Olinda rainforest where the artist lives on a terraced property with glimpses down the Dandenong ranges on Woiworung country.
Here in his workspace – where the floor is still covered in wax and every surface except the ceiling is covered in his art and the objects he has collected to make it – he responds to the inspiration garnered from his architectural and instrumental salvage. Repurposing old pianos and other hard-to-come-by materials, cox creates striking, large-scale assemblage sculptures. Through this practice he preserves memories, including family times shared around the piano. As he dismantles and reassembles unused pianos, his work reflects the concepts of rebirth and celebration he is exploring: and so the old family favourite rises like a phoenix from the ashes.
/ Many of our most treasured sentimental memories reside within objects we adore. I honour those memories shared with loved ones around the piano by delicately repurposing its parts and assembling them into a wall sculpture, reclaiming its place as the heart of the home. /
Above: Artist David Cox. Courtesy: the artist.
David Cox, La Phénix Tigre Aveugle, 2024. Assemblage Sculpture. 192 x 95cm.