Objects as comfort
2017
Silk screen prints on dyed satin, knitted hangings dipped into plaster and recycled gloss paint, drawings on tracing paper, wire.
My great, great Grandfather was a Victorian collector and most of his talismans have common elements; they were small everyday objects which relied on repetitive movement and touch to make their magic. These satin and knitted hangings are tactile and comforting. They suggest the repetitive movement of the hand of the maker. They also remind us that to touch is to be touched; that cloth can communicate in ways that language cannot.
Some are dipped into plaster and old black gloss paint, suggesting the hardness and stickiness of life which we are trying to protect ourselves from. These objects suggest Kristeva's ideas of the 'abject' and Mary Douglas's ideas of 'matter out of place'.
Drawings from the talismans are printed using devore, flocking and foiling. There are also prints of the knits using the same techniques. They suggest ideas of repetitive motion to create comfort.
