Collection Details

Name/TitleI'm Still Here

About this objectI’m Still Here uses marble offcuts that have been discarded from building projects. Sergio Hernández Merchan then reassembles and carves them into new forms. Their resemblance to funeral urns and their contents is deliberate. Rather than hide the recycled and reassembled bits and pieces, the artist has chosen to expose them. Merchan believes that we are also vessels in the way we are defined by our relationships, family, friendships, memories and the places we have visited. By saying I’m still here, these vessels represent resilience. As familiar forms they are similar to the rhythm of life and death, as celebrated through rituals and bearing witness to passing lives.

Sergio Hernández Merchan was born in 1973 in Caracas, Venezuela and migrated to Australia in 2003. From 1995 to 2001, he worked in the studio of the famous sculptor, Cornelis Zitman, in Caracas. Sergio has participated in over 20 exhibitions and art prizes including the Blacktown City Art Prize Exhibition in 2018. His artworks are held in private and public collections in Australia, Venezuela and USA.

This artwork was acquired by Blacktown City Council through the 2018 Blacktown City Art Prize.

MakerHernandez Merchan, Sergio

Maker RoleArtist

Date Made2018

Medium and MaterialsMarble and polyester resin

Place MadeOceania, Australia, New South Wales, Sydney

Techniquesculpted

MeasurementsOn display: 11.5 h x 27 w x 17 d cm

Named CollectionBlacktown City Art Collection

Credit Line© Sergio Hernandez Merchan
Acquired 2018, Blacktown City Art Prize exhibition
Blacktown City Art Collection
Photo: silversalt Photography

Object TypeSculpture

Object numberBCC MCN 001