Girl with Sarong
Medium: Oak
This wooden sculpture by New Zealand artist Maria Lloyd is a small yet evocative work made from a wine barrel oak stave (80 × 420 × 20 mm).
The piece is carved and painted in the simplified silhouette of a standing figure, its form elongated and tapering, with a circular head pierced through the centre.
The oak retains its natural warmth and patina, enhanced with distressed white paint washes that reveal the layered history of the timber.
Around the “neck,” a band of turquoise thread creates the effect of a sarong or ornament, lending the figure a sense of cultural identity and adornment.
At the lower half, small turquoise glass beads are embedded in rhythmic patterns across horizontal cuts in the stave, suggesting textiles, jewellery, or musical rhythm.
The use of repurposed oak from a wine barrel imbues the sculpture with a sense of heritage and continuity, while the minimalist stylisation allows it to embody both an individual presence and a universal archetype.
The result is a playful yet dignified figure—part folk totem, part contemporary wall sculpture—where Maria Lloyd combines reclaimed material, colour, and ornament to celebrate human form, craft, and memory.
Price on application
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Maria Lloyd
I am fascinated by ancient civilisations, their cultures and how they created ceremonial art forms and objetcs to distinguish Themselves and document their histories. By Unravelling their mysteries we inevitably learn more about ourselves.
