Sculptures

People often complain about the damage done to cars after hitting a kangaroo when travelling. Have we ever stopped to think about this from a kangaroo point of view? 

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We may sustain a dent to the car or broken headlight, while the kangaroo suffers major injuries or worse, loses their life.  

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Jimmy drew inspiration for ‘Road Kill’ following a trip to Forbes in 2019, at the tail end of a three year drought. The 3.5 tonne reinforced Corten steel plate sculpture, which took six months to construct, depicts a role reversal of a rebellious kangaroo taking its revenge on a busy stretch of road.  

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“What I noticed during my travels was two things; how dry it was and how many kangaroos lay dead on the side of the road. From this, ‘Road Kill’ was born. I started to think about how wild animals follow tracks, like the ones we drive on and what if, a huge similar construction of similar scale was placed in our path, what would the impact be.”

 

“I hear people complaining how they hit a kangaroo and the damage it did to their vehicle, but the poor kangaroo gets seriously injured, often losing their life. I try to place myself in the kangaroo’s mind and what it would do to this menace in return. It would smash it with a cricket bat, of course!” - Jimmy Rix. 

Jimmy Rix’s sculptures often relate to personal experiences and familiar objects. Having lived within both natural and farmed Australian landscapes throughout his life, rebellious kangaroos, machine-horse hybrids, playful sheep and utilitarian objects have inevitably been cast as the actors of his narrative-based works. In these sculptures a sense of humour, an engagement with Australiana, an interest in scale and a concern for the environment are often the underlying themes and inspiration. 

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His ability to envision and execute enormous works in steel has led to Rix receiving many impressive public sculpture commissions and inclusions into a large number of outdoor exhibitions. Jimmy has a history of exhibiting with Sculpture by the Sea, Sculpture on the Edge, Lake Lights Sculpture Prize and Hillview Biennial.  

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Jimmy is represented by Australian Galleries.