WEBS
WEBS is an ongoing project that I have been working on since 2012, the "prototype" being Portable Spider Web Weaving Kit (2012-14). In parallel with my regular recycling activities, I have collected used frames from the streets of Montreal, and my family and friends have donated a few to me as well. The frames vary from "almost new" to "damaged/barely holding themselves together". They have been used in a way so as to reuse existing characteristics, i.e. existing dents became reference points for drilling, or existing holes in the frames were used to pass the wire through.
I have experimented with a few materials -Formex wire, craft wire and stretch cord, so far- to use for the web. The most challenging to use has been the Formex wire. I found a roll of Formex copper magnet wire dating from 1947 in a toolbox that I collected from the trash in Pointe St-Charles. It is very thin (40 AWG, the thinnest gauge of wire) and it breaks very easily, which has made the process of making the webs very challenging. If I were to make a web with wire that doesn't break, it would be pretty easy, but making it with wire that can break is a test of patience and a test of your problem-solving abilities. The process of making a web in this manner is an entirely trial and error exercise. Also, you would not be able to make the same web twice; every web is unique in how it is constructed, and in how the materials respond to being used to make this type of structure. Towards the end of the process of making the webs, unpredictable things start to happen: parts of the web start to break and the tension of the structure shifts, and these occurrences dictate what the web will look like in the end. I accept these as the material's expression of how it is interacting with my actions. In these pieces, I am trying to find a space where the materials are not taken for granted, where they are able to express their inherent qualities, all the while being used in a totally different way than their intended purpose(s) to become distinct works of art.
The production of multiple sculptures has also engendered a series of prints. I have traced the webs and made plexiglass engravings of them. These exist as stand-alone prints, and have also been used in mixed media works to act as a layer that goes over another drawing or print.
I have experimented with a few materials -Formex wire, craft wire and stretch cord, so far- to use for the web. The most challenging to use has been the Formex wire. I found a roll of Formex copper magnet wire dating from 1947 in a toolbox that I collected from the trash in Pointe St-Charles. It is very thin (40 AWG, the thinnest gauge of wire) and it breaks very easily, which has made the process of making the webs very challenging. If I were to make a web with wire that doesn't break, it would be pretty easy, but making it with wire that can break is a test of patience and a test of your problem-solving abilities. The process of making a web in this manner is an entirely trial and error exercise. Also, you would not be able to make the same web twice; every web is unique in how it is constructed, and in how the materials respond to being used to make this type of structure. Towards the end of the process of making the webs, unpredictable things start to happen: parts of the web start to break and the tension of the structure shifts, and these occurrences dictate what the web will look like in the end. I accept these as the material's expression of how it is interacting with my actions. In these pieces, I am trying to find a space where the materials are not taken for granted, where they are able to express their inherent qualities, all the while being used in a totally different way than their intended purpose(s) to become distinct works of art.
The production of multiple sculptures has also engendered a series of prints. I have traced the webs and made plexiglass engravings of them. These exist as stand-alone prints, and have also been used in mixed media works to act as a layer that goes over another drawing or print.
Portable Spider Web Weaving Kit, 2012-2014, dimensions variable.
Frame with spider web: Sculpture made from a found frame and 40 AWG (very thin) antique Formex copper magnet wire; box and support:
recycled wood laminated with St-Armand etching paper (outside),
paint, glue, varnish, found hardware, piano hinge.
Spider Web (from Portable Spider Web Weaving Kit), 2012-2014; 14”(w) x 18”(h).
Sculpture made from a found frame and 40 AWG (very thin) antique Formex copper magnet wire.
Spider Web 2, 2015; 10”(w) x 13”(h).
Sculpture made from a found frame and 40 AWG (very thin) antique Formex copper magnet wire.
Spider Web 3, 2015; 11”(w) x 14”(h).
Sculpture made from a found frame and 28 gauge craft wire.
Spider Web 4 (Stretch), 2015-16; 16”(w) x 20”(h).
Sculpture made from a collected wormy chestnut frame and stretch cord.
Spider Web 2 (silver on black), 2015; 11"(w) x 15"(h).
Plexiglass engraving with Akua Intaglio inks on black Somerset paper (varied edition of 10).
Spider Web 2 (silver on white), 2015; 11"(w) x 15"(h).
Plexiglass engraving with Akua Intaglio inks on BFK Rives paper (varied edition of 10).
Emergence, 2015-16; 8”(h) x 10”(w).
Mixed media with graphite rubbing, cut-out (from an engraving), pen, watercolor, glue.
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