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Hand-welded steel mesh with paint and mixed media
Acquired 2019
Created during Hannah Kidd’s voyage to Antarctica as part of the Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship.
Artist to Antarctica presents a life-sized figure constructed from hand-welded steel mesh, a process characteristic of Hannah Kidd’s sculptural language.
The surface carries a painted skin that shifts with the light, revealing the layered construction beneath.
Positioned along the wetlands edge of the Montalto Sculpture Trail, the figure appears mid-stride, echoing both the physical intensity of Antarctica and the artist’s lived experience of walking, observing and documenting the frozen landscape.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hannah Kidd
Hannah Kidd is a New Zealand-born sculptor celebrated for her distinctive use of hand-welded steel mesh.
Her figurative works often explore the character, humour and resilience of human and animal subjects, rendering them with an immediacy that comes from her highly tactile construction process.
Kidd has exhibited widely across Australasia, contributing major works to both public and private collections.
Working primarily with recycled and fabricated steel mesh, Kidd welds thousands of individual sections together to build expressive, three-dimensional forms.
Her sculpture balances precision and rawness, revealing both the structure of the material and the personality of the subject.
Themes across her practice include environmental observation, human behaviour, anthropomorphism, and the relationship between people and place.
During her fellowship in Antarctica, Kidd expanded her practice to reflect the extreme conditions, isolation and scale of the southern continent, integrating lived experience into her sculptural vocabulary.
SELECTED CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Recipient of the Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship, resulting in the Artist to Antarctica body of work.
Exhibited across major sculpture events in Australia and New Zealand, including outdoor sculpture festivals and curated gallery shows.
Works held in public and private collections throughout Australasia.
Recognised for her innovative use of steel mesh in contemporary figurative sculpture.
KIDD AT MONTALTO
Artist to Antarctica entered the Montalto collection following the artist’s 2019 Antarctic voyage as part of the Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship.
The sculpture reflects Kidd’s experience of travelling on foot across snow and ice, responding directly to the textures, climate and behaviours she encountered.
Situated along the wetlands path with expansive vineyard views, the work connects the remoteness of Antarctica to the Mornington Peninsula landscape, inviting visitors to pause and consider environment, climate and movement across place.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Artist Website:https://www.hannahkidd.co.nz/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/workshoplife/
