The Ned Kelly Suite: Ross Miller

The present body of work was inspired by Miller’s son-in-law’s chance comment, comparing the mask the sculptor wore to receive radiotherapy treatment while recovering from cancer to the mask of an iconic figure in Australian history.

Beginning with Self-Portrait of the Artist, which represents the conflation of the radiotherapy mask and Ned Kelly’s distinctive helmet, the initial idea resulted in a suite of sculptures capturing key moments from Ned Kelly’s narrative.

In preparation for the suite, Miller researched Kelly’s life extensively, delving into the archival materials, numerous biographies, as well as general studies contextualising the socio-historical context of the era.

From the plethora of available information, Miller has selected episodes that resonate with him in a variety of ways on a profoundly personal—and, at times, autobiographical—level. Self-Portrait of the Artist is just the first example.

In creating The Horse Whisperer, Miller touches on Kelly’s genuine love of horses. As a horse thief, Kelly would return the horse claiming the reward, with everyone observing that the horse was in a much better shape than when it ‘disappeared’, being fed, scrubbed, cleaned and generally cared for while ‘missing’. Kelly relied on his special relationship with a grey mare named Music: “As an outlaw in hiding, he required a horse he could train, trust, and had the endurance to cope with the rugged mountain landscape of the bush.” An autobiographical connection is provided by Miller’s father’s special gift with horses.

In The Rescue, Miller captures a rarely alluded fact about Kelly’s reckless selflessness: ‘A ten-year-old Ned Kelly rescued Richard Shelton, a younger school mate from the flooding Hughes Creek. The Shelton family, to honour his bravery, presented Ned a green sash with gold tassels. The sash was always a valued item to Ned. He was wearing it under his armour at his capture by police during the siege at the Glen-rowan Inn.’

Such is Life is among the most poignant pieces in the series, depicting within a single work a series of three episodes from Ned Kelly’s last moments: the last meal, the final prayer, and ascending the scaffold, at the summit of which he is variously credited with saying either ‘Such is life’ or ‘Ah well, it has come to this at last.’ Few other works created to date emphasise Kelly’s youth, who was only twenty-five years old at the time of his execution.

The sculptures bear evidence to Miller’s joy of the creative process. Bronze pieces bear the master’s marks imprinted on wax prototypes and models. They demonstrate Miller's masterful ability to manipulate bronze surfaces, at times leaving them untouched, or polishing them to gleaming perfection, or exposing them to the elements in order to acquire the alluring patina of variegated greens suggestive of age and permanence. Bases for the sculptures were considered equally carefully, being devised from timbers and stones of the Kelly country, including vintage and repurposed materials.