This article is part of a history snippet series in a monthly column for the community by Burke Museum staff.
THE Burke Museum's new long–term exhibition the 'People of Beechworth' opened on Saturday, April 16 and features more than 50 objects from the permanent collection of the Burke Museum, many of which had never been on display until now.
One great example is the collection of wooden sculptures of human heads that were carved by a patient of Mayday Hills Asylum around 1977.
Not much is known about the maker, but on closer inspection we have discovered some interesting information.
The smooth gentle curves and flowing lines of the sculptures tell us that the artist was using the grain of the wood to guide their tools.
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The caricature nature of the facial features suggests that the artist may have had a muse in mind or was inspired by a style.
Lastly, Romanian letters have been written across the top of the sculptures which hints that maybe this individual had a Romanian background.
As we display these sculptures more information begins to surface – we recently learnt that Museums Victoria also holds a collection of these sculptures which makes us think there was more than one maker.
Perhaps we will find out more by sharing this article with you!
If you know anything about these sculptures or about art therapy at Mayday Hills send us an email at burke.museum@indigoshire.vic.gov.au.
