Mela Cooke
Who better to understand and interpret the musculature and attitudes of the human form than a highly skilled physiotherapist? Both sculptor and physio for many years Mela Cooke is perfectly qualified to produce her accurate and sensitive bronze sculptures of the human body. Her current work represents many years of practised observation and reflection.
Mela's work possesses a narrative element, often obscure and she employs her keen perception to tell stories of the people around her, especially family and her memories of a childhood in rural Victoria.
Her work celebrates the human form and her figures are often in pairs, man/woman, teeneagers, mother/child, or human/animal. There is a separateness, merging on aloofness. Her horse/rider and kangaroo/man in particular demonstrate a unity in both form and content. The traditional theme of horse and rider so obsessively explored by Marino Marini, presents a new point of departure for Mela.
She has recently experimented with different surface textures, finely combed lines like Seurat drawings. These textures are always subtle and relate to the overall form. The strong uncomplicated line of the sculpture is always maintained.
Mela's work has a solidity and a groundedness and her figures exude the veracity of lived experience. Her characters would make welcome companions in any serious collection.
The Incredible Lightness of Being $2,600
Whoa! $980 Small bronze 25cm high
"Whoa" Outdoor version $6,500
My Big Sister $4,400
The Spectators