McLean’s mixed media works are idiosyncratic, autobiographical visual records of his experiences and perceptions. His drawings and found object sculptures act as rhizomatic diaries that pictorially represent fragments of personal and social histories and his relationship to local environments. Often described as mental maps, works like “I Saw Wilt” integrate the artist’s daily observations as a Canadian expat with found materials: text clippings, commemorative postage stamps of American basketball star Wilt Chamberlain, and a scavenged saw. Inspired by Canadiana folk-art traditions, “I Saw Wilt” concerns McLean’s identity as a Canadian artist living in Brooklyn (“home” and “away”) through the intersection of art and sport. McLean has worked with saw forms since receiving his first commission for a painted found object from a neighbour while living in Vancouver; they have been featured in magazines such as “Border Crossings” and in exhibitions throughout Italy, the United States, and Canada.
