In the midwest of the US, stacks of firewood are a common sight but Michigan artist Michael McGillis does something beautiful and unexpectedly different with a row of logs.This wonderful installation was originally exhibited at the Francoma Sculpture Park in Shafer, Minnesota and consisted of a 95 foot long trench of cut logs painted purple as if the logs were a new species of tree.
Curious to know more, I asked Michael why the piece is called Wake?
The title uses both meanings of the word. Referring to lingering turbulence in a disturbed natural system as well as a funerary ceremony to acknowledge the death of a physical space.
And why the colour purple?
The choice of colour for the end cuts had various influences. I wanted the presence of colour to suggest a lingering energy of human contact with the trees. And selecting purple was a response to what natural colours dominated the location at the time I built the work. And my desire to defy them.
Thanks Michael, and of course a Wake is a Celebration of Life...
