Anna Eggert is a prolific artist who continues to explore new materials and processes. Anna is well known for her stainless steel figurative sculptures and insightful transformations of found materials such as embroidery hoops, coloured cabling and axe handles into rhythmic, abstract forms. Previously, Anna explored the impact of hidden forces such as light and sound waves, gravity and radiation on our physical world with the turmoil of these energies captured in lively painted and woven surfaces. As the recording of the presence and passage of such forces is central to Anna’s work, so too is the physical process of making; the dynamic visual energy of her work is at once transitory and complete. Continuing with her use of industrial materials, her attention has recently turned to the intrusion of technology on the natural world. In this work, the making process and materials used are clearly evident yet the eye is tempted to recognise these metal objects as plants and is drawn into the minute details of seeds, petals, translucent leaves. There is visual pleasure, but also a certain disquiet. As Anna explains, “What we used to think of as the natural untouched world is disappearing. Plants are now being manufactured by science and technology into new forms, ones which can survive even in an industrial wasteland.”
Anna Eggert completed her Bachelor of Visual Arts at the Canberra School of Art in 1990 and has exhibited regularly since then. Anna is a highly regarded sculptor who, since 2001, has participated in many sculpture prizes, often achieving distinction as a finalist or winner. In 2008, Anna received the ACT Creative Arts Fellowship, was a finalist in the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award, won the People’s Choice Award in the McClelland Sculpture Award and in 2001 and 2007, was a finalist in the Wynne Prize. Anna Eggert’s work is represented many collections including Artbank; Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra; Canberra Museum and Gallery; Alice Springs Art Foundation; Macquarie University, Sydney; and Deakin University, Melbourne.
