Len and Kath Shillam: collaborative works
Creation is a very private matter. We do not interfere in each others work, working separately even when in the same work area. The only advice given is when it is specifically asked for, and, not given to be taken, but to be thought over as a maybe.
Len Shillam
(Hartnett, D 1996, Forms entwined : the life story of sculptors Leonard & Kathleen Shillam, Pangeza Studio, Brisbane, Qld, p.155.)
Throughout their artistic careers, Len and Kath Shillam cherished their artistic independence. While they shared themes and interests from time to time, their oeuvres display significant differences – Len’s work more angular and dramatic, Kath’s characterised by lyricism and poetry.
Their first major sculptural collaboration was Pelicans, 1985, which stand in the Pelican Pool of the Queensland Art Gallery. The commission was awarded to Len, but as they had previously arranged, Kath collaborated with him on this work. The forms were Len’s but the detailing and decoration on the birds were finessed by Kath. A change of location within the Cultural Centre meant that Len’s original idea had to be rethought and five over-size pelicans were the result, cast by Perides Art Foundry.
Following a bad car accident in 1987, the Shillams consolidated their physical abilities and worked together more consistently. In the accident Kath fractured ten bones and suffered crushed lungs, and Len was also badly hurt, breaking two bones, and went on to develop rheumatoid arthritis. The reduction in their individual physical capacities meant that by working together they could achieve significantly more. The first opportunity to do so was presented by the discovery of Kath’s maquette for “Lost Sheep” in late 1987. This small sculpture had won a sculpture competition at The Southport School in 1982. Len offered to help her have it cast in bronze at more than life size. While there were many arguments the job was completed in 1989.
Other works completed in this way include Jabirus, 1992. This work was commissioned by the Brisbane City Gallery (now Museum of Brisbane), and became a permanent memorial to Brian and Marjorie Johnstone and their contribution to art in Brisbane. The coupling of the two birds represents on many levels the twin souls it remembers, and that of its makers. Kath noted "With much friendly and sometimes acrimonious bickering, we now enjoy immensely the experience of working together and the resulting work has pleased us both." (Hartnett, D 1996, Forms entwined : the life story of sculptors Leonard & Kathleen Shillam, Pangeza Studio, Brisbane, Qld, p.167)
Other joint works include:
Queen Elizabeth in Butter, 1954. Commissioned by the Queensland Butter Board for the Brisbane Royal National Show.
Queensland Coat of Arms, 1979, bronze, Commissioned for the Queensland Parliament House Annexe
Cormorants, 1992, bronze birds on timber construction,
Ducks, 1994, bronze
Len Shillam noted in the Len and Kath Shillam Papers: 6015/5 that, "Of course since we started making sculpture in the 1930s we have always helped one another but now this new experience of complete collaboration on equal terms has been rewarding in a personal sense. We both feel that the resulting sculptures have benefited."
In their latter years the Shillams collaborated as avid documenters and publishers of their own work. They wrote and published through the Copyright Publishing Company, Brisbane: Formative years : four art students in 1930s Brisbane (1997); Shillam Sculpture (2000); The Shillam/O’Neill Connection (2001); and Drawn with love (2003). This became their last joint achievement, as Len noted in the dedication. Shortly before his death in 2005, Len organised the publication of Odyssey x 2, the diary of their trip to Europe in the 1960s.
Browse pictures from the Leonard and Kathleen Shillam Papers.
Last updated: 24th June 2011
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