Notes from 'Burn' A series of work exhibited 2002 Soapbax Gallery Brisbane
corpus christi
The central image of the series is the poignant sculptural image 'Corpus Christi', a winged Christ crucified upon an electric stove coil, exhibited individually and also as a component of the larger 'element' installation.
Exuding an almost archetypal quality the piece simultaneously references traditional spiritual iconography and 1950's suburban kitsch; at once both reverent and ironic. In the re-configuration of the familiar domestic object as an instrument of torture this work alludes to the sinister undercurrents of suburban existence.
The hand made wings of 'corpus christi' are made from the collected feathers of battery hens; nature imprisoned to feed human demand. Intriguingly the representation of Winged Christ strongly alludes to a despondent Icarus, of Greek legend. The plastic sheen on the synthetic christ figure exudes a wax like quality, reinforcing the mythic association. This intersection of icons has interesting implications. Icarus' ascension was sabotaged by the pursuit of his will in direct disobedience to his father's wisdom, whilst the crucifixion of Christ is seen as the culmination of pursuing the will of 'the father' at the expense of the self, predicating his 'perfect' ascension. Has Icarus been been grounded by wings created from the subordination of nature? Aesthetically the physical interplay between the plastic, metal and organic media mirrors the conceptual balance of the piece.


flesh
In flesh jagged pieces of paperbark branded with text line the wall like nameless patients in a hospital ward, encompassing the viewer with words such as weep, crust, maim, scrape, welt, scab, graft, sear and bleed.
Part way through the process of creating this work (flesh) my father sustained serious full thickness burns to much of his body during an epileptic seizure. This macabre, synchronistic experience of watching the weeping, blistering, dying skin of my father profoundly affected my vision. The inherent characteristics of paperbark, with its subtle variations in colour and texture has an uncanny parallel to the layers of human skin and it was this accident that saw my work evolve from one of pure metaphor to one infused with concern for texture and surface, form and tangibility. Rather than pure symbolism, my concept deepened as I became absorbed with the tangible physicality of wounded flesh and the scars that remain.
torso A line of brown paper bags each bearing the charred form of an electric stove element is a potent symbolic image directly referencing the child held down upon the hotplate. In this work the black charcoal marks are not additions, but have eaten into the original surface, leaving the blackened paper weakened and maimed.
The multiplicity of these simple images adds an almost ritual-like element that was especially apparent in the process of creating the work.The use of paper bags in my work functions as a metaphor for the torso and connotes the body as a vessel; the dialectic of concealment/exposure; outwardly uniform, but with a hidden interior. Occasionally some of the interiors contain shreds of case notes gleaned from my professional work while others bear small candles, which flicker inside.
The fragility and volatility of the media is deliberate, the real possibility of the works being consumed by the fire contained, a deliberate tension.