Prior to pursuing a full time career in art, Charles ran survival courses and outdoor expeditions. During this time he travelled to remote locations and began experimenting with sculpture and painting using materials collected on his trips. From a young age, a hunter-gatherer ideology has influenced his life and work, from free-diving for seafood to collecting driftwood and reinstating discarded items to new glory.
Sculpture
The sculptures Charles creates are just as much about the adventures to find the materials as the final form or shape he creates. Every piece of driftwood he picks up has travelled across the ocean, survived the harsh elements and by chance washed up on the particular beach he is walking along that day.
“When assembling the sculptures in the studio, I can sometimes pick up the same piece over a number of years before it fits in the particular puzzle I’m working on at that time."
His sculptures are formed using a number of design elements and principles : the gap between two pieces form shadows, different textures of bleached-out timbers form patterns.
“You can’t get these combinations without collecting materials from different location and when I combine these the result is something unique”.
Newspaper Girls
Charles’ newspaper works are inspired by vintage summer advertisements from the 1950s-1960s. The stripes he paints are a classic and timeless pattern found on beach umbrellas, deck chairs and swimwear which is synonymous with summer on the coast.
“I have always loved the vintage advertisements and billboards, the classic look and style of that era - I enjoy bringing life back to something old and discarded. There are many challenges with newspaper works; with a single brushstroke you can easily cover a piece of history which I think resonates with modern media – you don’t always see the full story”.
“In the late 80s, Dad would take us on trips in his Cessna185 flying over the desert and coast of Australia and landing in remote locations with no roads where we’d fossick for everything from fossils, ancient spear heads to bits of flotsam and jetsam from the coast. I feel pretty lucky that such an enjoyable pastime has now become a work routine!”
“My sculptures and paintings are a representation of everything I love about the sea, adventure and travel. I hike, dive and explore the most rugged and remote coastlines of Australia, sometimes hiring light aircraft to give me access to the most isolated beaches. I select materials that are shaped by the harsh elements of the environment to use in my artworks. Washed-up driftwood, flotsam and jetsam found by chance on secluded beaches that survives a journey across vast oceans, corrugated iron and other salvaged building materials scorched by sun and hammered by storms – I love it all. Featuring these items and their story in my art is a real motivator for me”.
Chisholm Institute Design Award
Advanced Diploma of Graphic Design | Chisholm Institute
Diploma of Graphic Arts and Design | Chisholm Institute
Certificate IV in Arts – Applied Design | Chisholm Institute
Young Designer’s Preparation Program – Studio 108 | Monash University
Certificate IV Engineering | Chisholm Institute
Exhibitions
2019 - Galleria360 - Art is Now, Florence (Italy)
2019 - Manyung Gallery Pop up Exhibition - Manyung Gallery Mount Eliza (AUS)
2018 - Lost at Sea - solo exhibition Manyung Gallery Sorrento (AUS)
2018 - Charles Wilcox Exhibition - solo exhibition Studio Six, Seaford (AUS)
2018 - Summer in Flinders Manyung Gallery
2018 - Coolart Exhibition Somers
2017 - Summer Exhibition Without Pier
2017 - Of The Sea, group exhibition
2017 - Deep Water, solo exhibition Studio Six Victoria
2017 - Mansfield fine Art Gallery Easter Exhibition
2017 - Art Redhill
2017 - ARC The Gippsland Sculpture Exhibition
2017 - Summer group exhibition Without Pier Gallery Victoria
2017 - Summer group exhibition Manyung Gallery Sorrento
2017 - Coolart Exhibition Somers
2016 - Group exhibition Manyung Gallery Sorrento Victoria
2016 - Australia Wild, group exhibition, Sherbrooke Art Society, Belgrave
2016 - VIC Beaches, Seas, Sport, group exhibition, Manyung Gallery, Sorrento
2016 - VIC Stranded on Coastlines, group exhibition, Manyung Gallery, Sorrento VIC
2015 - Blues of Summer, group exhibition, Manyung Gallery, Sorrento VIC
2015 - Urban & Iconic, group exhibition, Manyung Gallery, Mount Eliza VIC
