The Home I Searched For.
glass murrine, fused and cold worked
The Home I Found.
glass murrine, fused and cold worked
Intervention on right angles
mural
Intervention on soft angles
mural
The peacock feather is a symbol of prestige, power and the masculine display of beauty. Peacock feathers have often been used within decorative traditions to express opulence, being heavily used in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco traditions. This work takes the peacock feather motif and twists its intent. It takes the feather outside of itself, adding conceptual depth by mixing it with expressive abstraction, while adapting it through the unique material of glass and the ancient technique of mosaic murrine. The two mural works contribute to this same action, but in reverse, combining fragmented architectural intervention with street art methods.
About the artist
Dr. Owen Johnson is a Toronto based artist and sculptor, who was born and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He has an undergrad in Visual Art from Australian National University and a Ph.D. from the Royal College of Art, UK. Since moving to Canada he has worked at Sheridan College and his work has focused on the expressive qualities of decorative pattern, and a re-evaluation of ornament within contemporary culture.