‘Little Dwellings’ by Ben Trupperbäumer explored a particular period of the artist’s formative years decades earlier in Germany, in an introspective exhibition of nine art works.
Since his art career was established in the early 1980s, Trupperbäumer has carved a unique role for himself within the North Queensland art scene and beyond. He is well known for his three dimensional timber and bronze sculptures, and in more recent years his lightly carved timber slabs.
One of Trupperbäumer’s more enduring traits is his constant artistic re-evaluation. Each exhibition presents evidence of development in either technique or concept. He has said that he faces a continual questioning and believes that re-experiencing a particular period in his life may lead to a new direction. Add to this, the fact that his intense manual work over the years has resulted in his hands no longer being capable of putting in the hours required to create his labour intensive artworks. He queried ‘How to be meaningful and vital, and work within this limitation?’ This question did not go unanswered for long.
In 2005, Trupperbäumer’s move to the Atherton Tablelands from Mission Beach (both in far North Queensland) proved to be a catalyst. One key factor was that he had built his Mission Beach house with his own hands, but the new owners of this prime piece of real estate did not recognise its intrinsic value and demolished the house.
A second key factor, which may not have been spoken loudly, is that this resonated with the memory of his parents encouraging his free thought and innovation—until the age of thirteen, when a wall was brought down on his self-expression. This exhibition focused on his childhood