Studio visit with Curtis Peasley
Don't let these picturesque surroundings fool you........
Behind these doors a massacre is taking place.............
Curtis Peasley's studio lies behind these wooden french doors at his beautiful country home outside Orange, NSW. As I cross the threshold I am assaulted by the sounds of death metal, no doubt to get me in the mood for what I am about to witness.
Gazing around the room it all looks relatively harmless and charming, old books cover every surface, this man is obviously well-read. Then I notice the piles of shredded paper and triangular wedges of book skewered in piles on the desk and floor. He's a book murderer!
He offers me a cup of something hot, I accept, he then tells me to make myself comfortable as he disappears into the kitchen. While he's gone I take a few snap shots for evidence. Curtis returns with a cup of tea for me and calmly seats himself at the small, dainty desk on which he commits his crimes. His next victim is clamped to the desk and carefully marked for incision. Then out comes the saw.... The entire process is very clinical and handled with great care. It becomes clear that murder is not the intention, let's call it "re-purposing". These books, once discarded and forgotten objects, are carefully and lovingly brought back to life. Their ears may not thank him but the new owners of these clever artworks will.
