Australian Artist – Sonia Payes
Bronze sculpture Artist

WOMAN IN BRONZE  a 2.3-metre highly polished bronze sculpture, embodies transformation, resilience and the enduring power of the feminine. The gleaming surface reflects both light and life, serving as a mirror to the world while symbolizing permanence and strength. Its fluid, organic contours suggest movement, evoking the dynamic evolution of identity, motherhood and our interconnected existence.

At the heart of Payes’ artistic practice lies a deep reverence for nature and the cycles of birth, destruction and regeneration, an ethos that permeates WOMAN IN BRONZE. Smooth flowing lines echo the movement of water, an elemental force, a source of life and transformation. Through its luminous, almost mythical presence, the work invites contemplation on the intersections of humanity, nature and time.

This piece is more than a representation of form; it is a visual meditation on environmental fragility and maternal vigilance. Payes has long explored themes of creation and destruction, but WOMAN IN BRONZE offers a contemporary perspective shaped by growing ecological uncertainty. WOMAN IN BRONZE embodies an innate awareness of looming threats, while it’s metallic solidity conveys an unyielding strength. The curvature of its hollow structure imbues protection and nurture, qualities synonymous with motherhood and the artist’s personal journey as a mother.

In WOMAN IN BRONZE, Payes distils the essence of humanity in our world, encapsulating the cyclical nature of life. The emerging fracture, a subtle yet significant detail, suggests both division and regeneration, a simultaneous breaking and birthing. The sculpture carries within it the visual DNA of the artist’s family, both her daughters, Ilana and Janine. This embedded lineage reflects Payes’ unwavering hope in the continuity of life, a testament to the transformative power of creation and the eternal nature of renewal.

Through WOMAN IN BRONZE, Sonia Payes presents a powerful and deeply personal vision, one that contemplates the future while celebrating the past, urging us to recognize the delicate balance between our existence and the world we shape.

Sonia is an Australian visual artist and over the last twenty years has fused her foundational photographic practice of analogue with digital and sculptural forms. She has worked nationally across Australia and internationally, including a solo exhibition in Shanghai at The Urban Planning Exhibition Centre, including a two-month residency in rural Beijing at the studio of Shen Shaomin. Winning the McClelland Achievement Prize, MAP14, enabled her to pursue her sculptural practice as well. Her works are held in both public and private collections and displayed as permanent public art in Western Australia and in prestigious collections in NSW and Victoria. Sonia will also have works presented at the 2024 Venice Biennale. 

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