-Coronation Bank 1911

This is the Coronation Bank, probably made by Sydenham & McOustra out of cast iron. I like that they didn't smooth out the ironwork, the texture is super present! Look closely, the metal is not shy about being metal! It's brown but it reflects light, and the surface is irregular. This piece really shows its process and I always appreciate that. Around the edges you get a real sense of the material and the mold. Everything is framed by these amazing florid details. That circular frame holds a figure in profile – who do you think that is? For me, this piece reminds me of the work of someone like William Blake, who embraced a kind of artmaking that was less about realism, and more about emotion. Both artists seem interested in a similar kind of expression, a way of seeing that embraces multiple possibilities.