The Work:
This series of sculptures draws on cityscape themes to address sociological ideas about the transformation of cities and urban spaces, touching on their beauty, distinctiveness, and rapid development. McNabb repurposes discarded wood to form sculptures that often feature intriguing and unconventional qualities, encouraging viewers to reinterpret the material and form their own perspectives of the city. Through a combination of traditional woodworking skills and experimental mark-making using a bandsaw, McNabb’s method, which he calls “sketching with a bandsaw,” enables him to create shapes quickly and explore new ideas without relying on detailed planning. This spontaneous approach aims to capture the raw, energetic lines found in modern urban art. The finished pieces are abstracted architectural compositions, distorting familiar forms to challenge the viewer’s understanding of the urban landscape and our connection to it.