Description
Mechano Time Machine, showcases a mix of dynamic elements that highlight naturalistic forms while giving the composition a level of abstraction. The title of this artwork refers to an English mechanical engineering toy set patented in 1907 as Meccano. The word meccano was derived from the phrase Make and Know. Hyde’s painting features Meccano metal strips, metal cast toys, and a figure reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures Underground and Adventures in Wonderland, originally published in 1855. This playful depiction of Alice with her elongated neck alludes to the magical properties of the various sizes Alice is transformed within the story. When Alice arrives in Wonderland, she is too large to enter the door to the beautiful garden, after she drinks from a mysterious bottle, she becomes too small to reach the key. These various states reference the unpredictability of age, maturity and innocence.
Laurence Hyde (1914-1987) was a British-born Canadian film maker, painter, and graphic artist, known for his work with the National Film Board of Canada, stamp designs for the Canadian Postal Service, and the wordless novel Southern Cross. Laurence Hyde’s work can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinberg, Ontario) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), among other prominent collections.
Donation.