Lola (Black)

1999
Bronze
110 × 100 × 30 cm
Signed Burns

Collection
Canberra Museum and Gallery, acquired through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2012–2013.

Conservation

In 2025, Canberra Museum and Gallery undertook a review of the patinas on Lola (Black) and Lola (Pink) as part of the ongoing care of the sculptures in the museum’s collection.

Provenance

First exhibited as a painted wax and plaster wall sculpture in Towards the Baroque, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, 16 March to 10 April 1999.

Following the exhibition, the sculptures were cast in bronze in Sydney.

Exhibited at Floriade, Canberra, September 2000.

Installed at Orion Sculpture Park, Yass, New South Wales, 2007.

Acquired by Canberra Museum and Gallery through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2012–2013.

Description

Lola (Black) is one of four monumental bronze sculptures in the Lola series. Standing 110 cm high, it balances on one of its taller petals, creating a poised, vertical form that appears both rooted and weightless. Of the four bronzes, the black patina has remained closest to its original appearance, while the others have matured naturally over time.

The series began after my first visit to the Chelsea Flower Show in London in the early 1990s. Inspired by the extraordinary displays, I planted tulips in my London garden. After cutting the flowers and bringing them indoors, I became fascinated by the way they continued to change over many days. They opened, twisted towards the light and gradually revealed distinct personalities. Their forms became increasingly expressive, providing the foundation for a body of work that has occupied me for more than three decades.

The title Lola comes from the Kinks’ song of the same name. While studying the tulip, I became fascinated by the relationship between the central stamen and the surrounding petals. The flower suggested ideas of female friendship, identity and the coexistence of masculine and feminine characteristics within a single natural form. These themes remained largely unspoken when the sculptures were first exhibited.

Although the Lola series celebrates beauty, growth and transformation, each sculpture possesses its own emotional character. Lola (Black) became associated with mourning, acknowledging that joy and loss often exist together. As I remarked at the time, these were “the happiest sculptures I had ever made”, yet even they contained a darker side.

Exhibition History

1999 — Towards the Baroque, Annandale Galleries, Sydney.

September 2000 — Floriade, Canberra.

2000 — Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, Campbelltown, New South Wales.

2000–2007 — Displayed in the New Japanese Garden, Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, on loan from the artist.

2007–2012 — Orion Sculpture Park, Yass, NSW.

2012–present — Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (permanent public display).

Collections

Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra, Australia.

Acquired through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2012–2013.

Bibliography

Towards the Baroque. Exhibition catalogue. Annandale Galleries, Sydney, 1999.

Bruce James, “Toto, I’ve a Feeling We’re Not on Canvas Any More,” The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 April 1999.

Cassie Proudfoot, A Sculptor Succumbs to Tulip Mania, Canberra Times, September 2000.

With the Arts Relax, Canberra Times, 24 September 2000.

Works Situated in the Japanese Garden. Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery brochure, Campbelltown, New South Wales, c. 2000. Featuring Lola Black on loan from the artist.

Helen Musa, article on the theft and recovery of Lola (White), Canberra Times, 2004.

© Stephanie Fuller (Burns)