Sylvie
Sylvie
2000
Plaster, wax, bronze, stainless steel and cement fondu
Portrait of the artist’s stepdaughter
Sylvie began as a direct carving in plaster. Rather than treating the carved plaster as the finished surface, Stephanie Burns covered it with wax, allowing the forms to be refined before the figure was translated into bronze.
The sculpture combines several distinct materials and processes. The portrait itself developed through carving and modelling; the flower was cast separately in stainless steel; and the tall pedestal was made in cement fondu. Each material was allowed to retain its own character rather than being disguised as part of a seamless whole.
Although conceived as a portrait of Burns’s stepdaughter, the work was never intended simply as a transcription of likeness. The aim was to find a sculptural presence: to allow the figure to emerge through the physical processes of carving, modelling and construction rather than attempting to reproduce every feature descriptively.
The heavily worked surface remains central to the sculpture. Marks made during carving and modelling travel across the head and torso, while the broad circular form surrounding the figure and the elongated pedestal establish a strongly architectural structure. The separately cast flower introduces another register — a small, precise object held against the much larger, rougher body of the sculpture.
Looking back, Sylvie occupies an important position in Burns’s development. It brings together carving, modelling, casting and construction in a single work, and anticipates her continuing interest in allowing different materials to coexist visibly within one sculpture.
Materials and process
The original portrait was direct-carved in plaster, then worked further with wax before casting. The flower was cast separately in stainless steel, while the supporting pedestal was constructed in cement fondu.
Exhibition history
Stephanie Burns Fine Art, Deakin, Canberra — The Great Australian Male and Other Sculptures
The wax version of Sylvie was exhibited at Stephanie Burns Fine Art in Deakin as part of The Great Australian Male and Other Sculptures. This documents the work at an intermediate stage before the final bronze, stainless steel and cement fondu version was completed.
2007–2011 — Orion Sculpture Park, Yass, New South Wales
The completed sculpture was installed and exhibited in the gardens at Orion Sculpture Park. Surviving photographs show Sylvie sited both along the sculpture walk and among the tulips. The 2011 Orion material confirms that sculpture from the artist’s collection formed permanent focal points throughout the garden.
Orion Sculpture Park Classic Yass 2011.docx
29–30 October 2011 — Orion Sculpture Park Open Studio, Yass
Public opening.
5–6 November 2011 — Classic Yass / Yass Arts Trail, Orion Sculpture Park
Public exhibition/opening.
Orion Sculpture Park Classic Yass 2011.docx
Provenance
2025 — Donnelly’s Auctions, Australia
The completed Sylvie was sold through Donnelly’s Auctions.
© Stephanie Fuller (Burns)
I have atempted to sculpt Sylvie a few times through her life, this is one of the portraits that didn't survive because I wasn't happy with it. It was too realistic.
