Peacock Sculpture – Signature Statement

I never met Don, but I grew up on his legend. My grandmother’s peacock, regal and wild, was part of our family’s farm stories. When he died, my father had him taxidermied — and for nearly 30 years he stood in pride at a little country pub in Eaglehawk.

I wrote about him in my first book, Isolation (2020). Years later, I tried to track him down — calling the pub, chasing the story — but Don was gone, and no one knew where.

The peacock feather had already become my emblem by then, threaded through tattoos, panels, and prints. It wasn’t just Don anymore. It was what he stood for: presence, beauty, and permanence.

This sculpture is my way of immortalising him — and with him, that part of my creative lineage. Standing two metres tall, he’s also a milestone for VANTA: our first large-scale sculpture, expanding beyond panels into freestanding statement pieces.

I built him the opposite way I build most steel works. Instead of locking every line into structural rigidity, I let his feathers breathe. I cut them in aluminium so I could hand-roll each one for movement and flow. I redesigned every tendril for freedom, not containment.

He’s not alone in VANTA’s mythology. Alongside the goddesses — the other great symbol in my work — the Peacock stands as one of the brand’s enduring archetypes. Together, they carry VANTA’s identity: rooted in heritage, made for permanence, unafraid to stand in full view.