Storm Leaves is a series of site-responsive sculptural installations by Australian artist Anton McMurray. Placed at each of the trail entrances to ngurrak barring, these highly expressive works were created in response to the devastating storm that struck goranwarrabil (the Dandenong Ranges) on 9 June 2021 which toppled an estimated 25,000 trees. In a symbolic act of transformation and renewal, McMurray salvaged storm-felled cypress logs from the area, to handcraft five large-scale leaf sculptures.

McMurray grew up and has lived much of his life in the Dandenongs and Storm Leaves reflects both his deep-rooted connection to the natural beauty of the region and his reverence for trees as vital and enduring symbols of strength, intelligence and resilience. Each of the five sculptures is unique, featuring both textured and smooth surfaces, inviting a tactile exploration and reflection on nature’s mysteries and our intertwined relationship with the natural world.

The leaves are shaped using chainsaws, chisels and sandpaper. Wood, in its grain and scent, holds memory, each knot and scar reveals the sculptures rootedness in life’s journey. McMurray’s process of sculpting the timber doesn’t erase those histories, rather it elevates them into something tactile, expressive and contemplative. These sculptures stand as tributes not only to the leaf form, but to the life and lifeforce of the trees that once bore them.

McMurray’s Storm Leaves are all finished with bespoke Cutek oil colours inspired by aspects of the local landscape and native flora: the red evokes the rich autumnal tones seen in the region’s seasonal foliage; the purple is a nod to the native violets that dot the forest floor; green symbolises growth, renewal, and the enduring vitality of the natural world; and yellow speaks to the heart of the tree, the golden hue intimately reflecting its inner life. Together, these colours create a visual language of knowledge, memory and connection—a palette of place and feeling.

Storm Leaves carries both a story of destruction and regeneration. This timber was once part of living trees that were violently uprooted during the 2021 storm. By collecting, caring for and working with this material, McMurray transforms loss into monumental symbols of resilience and rebirth.

Anton McMurray is an Australian artist renowned for his monumental sculptures in wood incorporating inspired forms from the natural world.

Anton was raised and lived for many years on the forested slopes of Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges beneath towering Mountain Ash, Messmate and lush Tree-fern gullies. This awe-inspiring environment aroused a curiosity and affection for the material that has become his principal medium. The tree and the natural world, present for Anton as both teacher and the subject that fuels his lines of enquiry, resulting in sculptures that champion natures mystery, intricate details, importance and marvellous structural triumphs.

His sculpture studies have engaged him with master woodcarvers around the world, including Canada, Japan and Papua New Guinea.  In Australia he studied under celebrated Melbourne sculptors Bruce Armstrong and David Wilson at Prahran Faculty of Fine Art, completing a bachelor degree of fine art, at the Victorian College for the Arts.

Today Anton’s work is motivated by an innate concern for our natural world and a profound desire to commit his efforts towards its preservation, protection and celebration.

https://antonmcmurraysculptor.com