CELEBRATE ART: Tom Moore: Abundant wonder

The glass figures contained within the new book Tom Moore are sometimes sweet, occasionally unsettling, always surreal. To flip through these pages is to sink into dreams, imagination and childhood. Adelaide glass artist Tom Moore's work is truly a delight for the eyes and heart.

Tom Moore is one of Australia's leading glass artists. Over his career he has carved out a singular voice within Australian glass art making. His engaging, sophisticated and technically challenging hybridised animal/plant sculptures – and the fantastical worlds they inhabit – are embedded in the history of glassmaking and scientific discovery. His artworks are disarmingly playful in their use of narrative to critique the pressing social and environmental concerns of our contemporary epoch.

Post written by Poppy Nwosu

I've been looking forward to writing this post about the gorgeous and surreal Tom Moore book since I first saw an early proof of it in the Wakefield Press office, well before publication date.

The new art book really made a deep impression on all of the Wakefield staff, as we stood huddled around it in the kitchen, ooh-ing and aah-ing our way through every page.

Immediately, I loved these fantastic creatures Tom Moore has created. His work makes me feel as if I've stepped inside a fever dream!

Because today is an overcast and rainy day, my photos don't quite do the work in the book justice, so at the end of this post I have added some rather more professional spreads for you to feast your eyes on!
But before then, I wanted to highlight a few of my favourite figures within the book, just for fun, because I love them!

Tom Moore: Abundant wonder by Lisa Slade, Mark Thomson, Adrian Franklin, Tom Moore

So many of the creatures within this book are sweet, with a touch of childhood innocence about them ... like this one below!

Other creatures feel slightly more unsettling (to me, at least!).
The surreal almost has a touch of the sinister to it for these next two ... though I love them for their strangeness all the same!

 

Next are some more of my other favourite pages and creatures ... it is hard to believe all of them are created from glass!

 


And ... because of today's rain and clouds, and my lack of incredible photography skills, here are some quality spreads from the book to feast your eyes on!

 

 

Discover more about Tom Moore on our website and remember, the best way to show your support for writers, poets, artists, publishers and booksellers is to buy books!

Tom Moore was born in 1971 in Canberra, Australia. He graduated from Canberra School of Art, Australian National University, in 1994, trained in production techniques at JamFactory until 1997, and worked as Production Manager in the JamFactory's glass studio for 15 years. In 2019, he was awarded a PhD at the University of South Australia for his thesis 'Agents of Incongruity: Glassmaking embraces nonsense to navigate monsters, wonder and dread'.
Dr Lisa Slade is Assistant Director, Artistic Programs, at the Art Gallery of South Australia. In 2016 she curated the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Magic Object, which included the work of Tom Moore. In 2017 she was awarded a PhD from Monash University for her postgraduate research on curiosity and curatorial practice, which drew on the history of Renaissance Wunderkammern as well as colonial collecting practices.
Mark Thomson is a writer, designer and maker, working in the field of resourceful problem-solving cultures, championing the meaning and benefits that flow from those activities. He is the author of a number of books including Blokes and Sheds, Makers, Breakers and Fixers, Rare Trades and The Lost Tools of Henry Hoke. He is the founder and research director of the slightly prestigious Institute of Backyard Studies.
Professor Adrian Franklin is a UK-trained social anthropologist and has held professorial positions in the the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. His research interests include: the sociology of art; museums and museum innovation; art and cultural museums; art publics; cultural ecology; design; urban studies; the sociology of travel and tourism; the social bond; posthumanism and human-animal studies. He has published 11 sole-authored books (1999-2019) and over 100 journal articles and book chapters. He currently is Professor: Creative Industries and Cultural Policy at the University of South Australia. 
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