Tonight I Can Write.... detail, Denis Brown 1998
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When I use vellum, I like to think beyond its physical properties and also consider how to conceptually use the fact that it's the skin of a once living being. Thus I like natural grained and veiny vellums, which emphasise the animal origins.
This detail is from a series on a theme of relationships, and their fragility,The text by Pablo Neruda expresses a sense of loss over a separated loved one. I transcribed it onto a whole calfskin, symbolising a mere remnant of the lost being, (physically, the calf; metaphorically, the loved one).The skin bears marks of love (the calligraphy), and of pain (small sores) and a tension is suggested by the fact that stones are collaged to the skin. Hard stone against supple skin: harsh contrast, yet in harmony because I selected stones whose texture/colour mimics that of the calfskin.
Glass, engraved with love letters, lies in shatters against the work, suggesting fragility of relationships and a sinister tension of sharp glass against lithe skin. Two gilded circles represent wedding rings no longer worn,an allusion to the topic of Divorce, subject of an Irish referendum shortly before I made this work.
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©2005 Denis Brown www.quillskill.com |
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