Five Ways with Silk (2021)

Name of work

Beyond Words

Dimensions

190cm (h) x 150cm (w) x 170cm (d)

Requirements

Nothing specific

Materials

Silk & wood

Date of production

2021

Recommendations for handling

Nothing specific

MAO Sign Symbol Sound proposal

My submission is a painting that has been digitally printed onto silk twill, then suspended from the top bar of a deckchair, hanging loose in the wind and rain. The deckchair may be folded or unfolded.

Deckchairs carry associations of family holidays, the British seaside – and the associated memories of the past. Used in place of canvas, the silk looks unexpectedly vulnerable, and only half attached. The deckchair ceases to be an object of use; it is open to possibilities of implication and interpretation.

While the paintings already exist, the digital prints and deckchair would be created especially for this exhibition. With this in mind, there is time to adapt the proposition, and I am happy to take input from the curatorial team!

Artist statement

This work explores the space beyond language. I am interested in unspoken communications between people, what is understood through unconsciously absorbing body language or atmosphere. My work always allows room for more than one interpretation or translation, and I encourage the role of chance in the creative process. I keep returning to the theme of the incomplete, what is unsaid, misinterpreted or defies description in words; what is in the gap, the pause.

Description of process

The starting point for my work is a densely painted canvas, made up of successive layers of translucent paint, which over time create a delicately layered image of indeterminate abstraction. I photograph the paint, and digitally print it onto fabric. I primarily print on silks, using their delicacy and fragility as a point of accentuation. The silks are then suspended to allow movement, hanging in a way that is suggestive of precariousness, accident, or misuse.