John Hurrell – 11 July, 2024

In the wonderful new Gow Langsford gallery in Onehunga—and on the small lawn outside in the street—David McCracken displays seven of his large rusted corten steel sculptures, oddly subtle circular works that, at times—despite their diagonal ‘tractor tyre’ tracks-could almost be made of rubber with an upper edge that softly sags, and a bottom that flattens.

These are surprisingly complex, tactile and witty works, assembled from parts that are carefully cut out from steel sheets and impeccably welded together (not cast), to be viewed from many angles. They look solid, but are hollow. It is a brilliant construction process that results in a great many rust-coated surfaces on which to display multi-patterned dribbles, oxidising stains, dramatic streaks and flares. And surprisingly, also patches of sparkling silvery specks that suggest parts of a partially tarnished mirror lurking beneath the powdery rust.

McCracken is obviously fascinated by wheels, spirals and ‘wobbly bands’ on which to place cogs or teeth to repetitively dominate their inner or outer surfaces. Those surfaces he tilts, twists, curls and unravels, some being so complicated that you get vertigo when attempting to optically trace their linear vectors.

The teeth or treads on the strips can be aligned at angles or have round or sharp tips, alternating with or matching the forms below, or negative variations. The rhythms on both sides are carefully co-ordinated.

One sculpture, Pursuit—Descent from the Monastery, has a plate at its base. This is unusual, and seems a discreet method of countering its weight, as it has a pronounced lean.

McCracken’s five indoor works look stunning in the pristine gallery space with its high stud and thick white walls. The latter control the brief glimpses you have of adjacent works as you negotiate your way through a space that is never inert. The sculpture is reflected in the glossy floor, and shadows are not allowed to dominate.

On the surface these works seem to be about a rugged masculinist working-class virility, but prolonged closer inspection reveals a very complex assembling procedure of considerable delicacy, that extends over considerable time with intricate cutting and welding. They are not about brute strength or raw power at all. Just patience and extraordinarily careful, meticulously detailed planning.

And if you thought of these shapes as bangles or necklaces, maybe too in today’s age of dissolving stereotypes, a touch of the feminine.

John Hurrell

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