Vessels of Change
The Columns Gallery, Singapore
2020
The theme of vessels as signifiers of human experience underpins this body of work. In recent times, we humans have experienced greater levels of drama but also of ennui. As we have started living even more of our lives online, there is a need to connect with the tactile, the physical, the sensuous. The material experience brings about an understanding of our lived experience that is deeper than words and logic. The collapsing cell-like forms within the sculptures reflect in many ways our current way of life- individual and discrete worlds interwoven with the whole, caving-in yet ever evolving; pulled, pushed, impacted, vulnerable, growing. The interwovenness symbolizes the connections in our lives- the connections we urban dwellers have with Nature, but also with people around the globe.
Installation view, "Vessels of Change" 2020
The sculptures reference plants and growth I have studied during past artist residencies in wilderness areas of the earth. We are now isolated from the unique solace of the wide open spaces. Community interactions have become limited and many long to once again be with loved ones in other countries. We are more cut-off than ever from Nature and from each other, relying on technology to help fill the gaps. Organic forms captivate me because their structure suggests how living beings incrementally adapt to circumstances. In this context the sculptures become drawings in space, a three dimensional mark-making symbolic of how each of us is trying to respond to the new reality we find ourselves in.
Installation views, "Vessels of Change", 2020
Installation views, "Vessels of Change", 2020
Onwards 1
Cloth, paper, plaster, acrylic, resin, wire, wool, fishing line, hot glue
78 x 68 x 88 cm
2020
Cloth, paper, plaster, acrylic, resin, wire, wool, fishing line, hot glue
78 x 68 x 88 cm
2020
Installation views, "Vessels of Change", 2020