Rob Mulholland is a Scottish artist who became famous mainly for his uncanny sculptures and installations. The models of Mulholland remind humans but being made of mirrored Perspex they look like actual ghosts haunting Scottish forests and lakes. The series Vestige consists of several Perspex-made male and female figures. And the view is really moving and disturbing at the same time. Initially Mulholland wanted to reveal the idea of human influence on nature. “The essence of who we are as individuals in relationship to others and our given environment forms a strong aspect of my artistic practice. In Vestige I wanted to explore this relationship further by creating a group, a community within the protective elements of the woods, reflecting the past inhabitants of the space”. The models distort the surrounding so that it looks very eerie and mysterious.
Mulholland prefers to use translucent acrylic glass as it is more practical in use. It is easier to cut this type of acrylic glass and almost impossible to break it. Moreover Perspex distorts the reflection of light. The sculptures by Mulholland are simple and ingenious. “It alters reality, one moment you see them and the next moment they blend in. There is an ambiguity to it – it doesn’t answer all the questions”, describes Mulholland. Walking around the forest you may easily miss the models. But when you notice them you are astonished. The trick of the light is the main instrument in creating these whimsical and strange sculptures.
“I was trying to rack my brain and think of more imaginative ways to represent foxes in sculpture”. Once Mulholland realized that foxes were quite visionary and elusive. It motivated him to create these sculptures.
Exhibited in the open air they frighten people who loiter around the forests. Be careful, the view is not for faint hearted.
