DANIEL DAMIANO

Originally from Argentina, I moved to Australia and made it my home more than 30 years ago. My life as an Aussie began in Tasmania where I didn’t speak a word of English, arrived with $3000, a 13-month-old baby and $5000 in debt. Despite two medical degrees, I could only find work on a forestry project and setting up a nursery. But that was all a long time ago and since then I picked up a few more degrees and have enjoyed a good career working in medical technology, sales and marketing.

However, since I was a child, art was my passion! But being an artist in Argentina (or anywhere really!) generally makes parents anxious, and mine were terrified! At 13 my father took away my pencils and paintbrushes and set me on a different path. It was not until I was 45 that I picked them up again.

When we moved to the Central Coast a few years ago, I had to cut down some trees behind my house which sits on the edge of the bush. Fire season was approaching, and the advice given by the NSW RFS was to reduce the flammable floor of the forest and remove any trees too close to the house. I felt conflicted by the task and wanted to use the cut wood for a good cause, so I kept a couple of the tree trunks to carve something into the stumps as a way of paying my respects to our environment.

That was my first carving, of two owls rising proudly out of the mutilated casuarinas. I knew my wife would love them as her office looked out towards them. I used the remaining pieces of timber to carve a cat stalking those owls as well as some ducks native to our area. Later on, I found a termite eaten log that could burn for days and was inspired to pay tribute to our disappearing koalas, who were so brutally impacted by the terrible bushfires of 2020.

And so began my self-taught journey in sculpting creating pieces from the ‘Pachamama’ (mother earth as the first people of South America refer to nature). Since then, I have taken classes in the Sydney Sculpture School, National Art School and found a great mentor in John Lynch, who runs the Central Coast Sculpture School and recently retired from teaching after 30 years.

My hope is to inspire you to observe even the slightest of details on the floor of the forest; noticing what is on, above, inside and around the trees. How the animals, fungus, lichens on the rocks, kindling, dead leaves and bark all interact and intertwine. To reflect on how fragile our “entorno” surroundings are. To simply stop for a moment and yes, observe the beauty, but most of all, to acknowledge the purpose of any living being or thing that is presented to you.

CONTACT

daniel@artdd.com.au
0406 566 152

Please enquire about about prices and commissions.