Deutscher and Hackett

'Bronwyn Oliver's highly idiosyncratic sculpture appropriates and juxtaposes elements from nature and from past and present civilisations, while evoking a multitude of literary and poetic allusions. And as distinctly non-functional, lyrical work devoid of narrative, it ingeniously evades easy categorisation into prevailing pigeon holes of current thought and practice.

'Each of Oliver's works emits a whisper of familiarity and flickering voice of humour and optimism. At a deeper level, they strike an emotional chord in viewers hardened by the cynicism of much contemporary art practice. The poetic resonance of her deftly imaginative and delightfully quirky creations provides rare moments of reprieve from today's didactic obsession with lobbying socio-political issues. There is no sarcastic commentary, modernist, psychoanalytical or feminist deconstruction informing Oliver's work. Each piece is offered as a holistic entity, its layers of association emerging gradually through the process of looking.'¹

Fenner, F., Bronwyn Oliver: Mnemonic Chords, Moet et Chandon, Epernay, France, 1995, p. 4