Strip Canoe
Strip Canoe (2007) is a hand-built wooden canoe displayed in a gallery setting, held upright by two mannequin-like supports. This installation format highlights the object's sculptural qualities and positions the canoe as both crafted object and conceptual artwork.
Simon Starling is known for works where canoes act as cultural, material, or historical hybrids. The work draws on traditional North American strip-canoe building methods while substituting woods that connect to colonial histories and research on early Congo expeditions, framing the canoe as a hybrid object — part sculpture, part functional craft, part narrative device. These works show that canoe-making is a recurring method in Starling's practice, blending material craft with historical and cultural layers.
Simon Starling is known for works where canoes act as cultural, material, or historical hybrids. The work draws on traditional North American strip-canoe building methods while substituting woods that connect to colonial histories and research on early Congo expeditions, framing the canoe as a hybrid object — part sculpture, part functional craft, part narrative device. These works show that canoe-making is a recurring method in Starling's practice, blending material craft with historical and cultural layers.
