Absence and Presence (Part 1)
The way that someone can be physically absent from your life yet present at the same time is a concept that was at the centre of this project. I was fascinated with those fabric creases that we create and leave behind. The likes of which are a soft trace of our existence in any given place; an unmade bed is a prime example of a way folds and creases can be evidence of your presence there, your absence too, but that evidence is soon lost when the bed is made again.
In an attempt to immortalise those fleeting traces of life whilst highlighting the idea of a relationship, and the distance that can occur within them, I created these mixed media paintings of the folds and creases left in unmade beds.
(Approx 33 x 23)
(Detail)
(Approx 33 x 23)
(Detail)
I feel as though taking the folds and creases from a bed was important; its connotations with intimacy made the pieces feel a lot more private, and the use of love letters, that have been torn up and collaged in the background of each, added to this.
We leave traces wherever we go, both physical and non-physical, fleeting and everlasting, and this was an attempt to illustrate just one kind.
Part 2 coming soon!
Feedback is appreciated so let me know what you think!