Mahoe Leaf (white), 2025Painted, corrugated steel730 x 2060 x 60mm Mahoe Leaf (orange), 2025Painted, corrugated steel 730 x 2060 x 60mm Corrugated iron is the very essence of Jeff Thomson’s working life; he can warp it, manipulate it, delicately fold it, make it dance in his hands. With each Mahoe Leaf, Thomson transforms his signature industrial material into a lace like delicate skeletal leaf form, inspired by the found mahoe leaves that fall on the sculpture trail. The Mahoe Leaf sculptures fit in to an oeuvre of work inspired by Thomson’s keen eye for objects permeating his surroundings - an interest that first began while walking the small towns and rural roads of New Zealand. Noting and collecting the abundance of highway paraphernalia that littered the roadside, these highway experiences culminated in what would be a life-long interest in the objects we seem to step over, just like the mahoe leaf. Thomson has changed the popular perception of corrugated iron, and it is now seen not just as a building material, but an art form as well. Certainly, each Mahoe Leaf has a level of fragile detail, along with the careful application of paint dotted sporadically throughout the work, that reimagines the harsh utility of the material. Thomson has often spoken of the single-handed force behind the elevation of wrought iron; taking it off the roof and on to the artistic pedestal. As Thomson himself has said: ”I grind it, I curve it, I stack it, I cut it, I print on it, I even chop the iron into strips and weave it. I’m always conscious of finding new ways of working and using the material.”
