Mother Teresa

This larger than life size sculpture of Mother Teresa was commissioned by the Australian Catholic University for their new St Teresa of Kolkata Building on Victoria Parade in Melbourne.

This commission was instigated during Covid and took longer to organise than usual due to the subsequent logistical limitations. I designed a series of maquettes of Mother Teresa at different ages before it was decided that the older Mother Teresa would be most recognisable. The composition was inspired by a photograph of Mother Teresa holding one hand on her heart with the other outstretched (shown in the brochure detail below). The emotion and warmth of this gesture was what I hoped to catch in the sculpture, I wanted it to be inviting the viewer to feel safe and welcome.

I finished and moulded the sculpture in Florence in early 2022 and then freighted the silicone moulds to Fundere Fine Art Foundry in Melbourne. The commissioner, ACU Art Collection curator Caroline Field, wisely suggested we use a local foundry to ensure the project’s completion and safe delivery and installation, and everything was delivered on time despite the building schedule delays. The building was finally officially opened in September 2023.

I also produced a limited edition of small reductions of the larger sculpture which were presented to the ACU leadership at the inauguration ceremony. Pictures of them can be seen in the ACU Art Collections online catalogue.

Year sculpted: 2022.