The Garden Girls

Donna McCullough‘s Garden Girls, outdoor sculptures created of aluminum mesh, and steel, coaxes the audience to re-examine their perceptions of the cultural icons, gender stereotypes, and the nature of these unyielding metals. Intrigued by the dichotomy between perception and reality, her medium becomes symbolic, where the qualities of metal define not just itself but the object it eventually is molded to become. McCullough employs a juxtaposition of extremes: such as lightness and gravity, suppleness, and intransigence, to convey feminine sensibilities. Her work explores the duplicitous nature of steel or mesh, which can be manipulated to appear feminine and soft while maintaining its strength and rigidity – as a result, the dresses are at once both elegant and imposing.