Evocative Objects
In this series of work I wanted to concentrate in depth on everyday objects and their significance and context. I have always collected old and handmade things and I wanted to reflect on why some things are particularly special to us. Human contact, history, use and ownership can leave a sort of spiritual patina on physical things. This can give us a physical sense of human connection through time. They can also be a portal linking us to other people and places. I am intrigued by the effects of combining and physically altering objects. I am also very interested in how new narratives can then be built.
In my research I was influenced by the tradition of religious objects and amulets and the powers they have attributed to them. We can become attached to ordinary things in an affectionate, almost devotional way, and I wanted to explore that connection with an interactive art installation.
I first started to explore this idea through my series of “Object Reliquaries” where I presented personal object fragments in the manner of devotional religious relics. The use of caskets and sumptuous looking materials adds to their perceived sense of importance.
The installation below is called Wish List. It is a homage to the many special objects with which we collectively share our lives or would like to! The format is based on a prayer wall where pilgrims leave messages of thanks, votive offerings and prayers. With the rise of consumerism and a disposable and virtual society, I am concerned that objects may no longer come to hold that potent physical memory of our lives and humanity. This work celebrates the beautiful and the everyday; the possessed and the longed for. It is both a celebration of things and a prayer for their role in our future. It also contains, displayed within it, the series of Object Reliquaries, lit from below to give an otherworldly glow. When it was exhibited viewers were encouraged to add their own votive memories of special objects to the piece. Incense and a soundtrack of Gregorian chanting added to the mystic atmosphere.
‘The Brothers’ are a pair of candle sconces made from re-purposed old aluminium billy cans from the 1940’s. They have been embossed with texts which emphasise the spiritual nature of objects to encourage the viewer to consider the role of things more deeply. They were displayed either side of the prayer wall piece. The title of the work refers both to the religious meaning of brothers and the fact that things quietly share our lives as our companions. Things are silent witnesses to our lives through the generations.
