A white bird glides
Over reflected clouds
Suspended
Tapestries at EVOLV
Thear are a pair of Jacquard tapestries commissioned for EVOLV rentals, a Daniels development.
The two artworks are woven tapestries based on landscape imagery. The weaving process is complex; produced on a special computer-controlled loom. You might not at first see the ‘Clouds’ and ‘Waves’ that the titles tell you are represented here. Up close, you see the weave of the many coloured threads and the patterns in the material. As you step further away, the images of clouds and waves become apparent. Only at a distance do you see through the material to the illusion of the image. In nature, clouds and waves don’t allow you to see them all at once. As you try to capture one detail in your mind, everything else has shifted away. These tapestries make you aware of how images are constructed in your mind, of how you create your own illusions.
Row
ky and water merge in silver haze.
The sound of paddles working in unison.
The water moves backwards. The sky floats free.
This small vessel is the fixed, stationary centre of the universe
Drifting
The ship out there is drifting.
The sails are down; its not going anywhere in particular.
Clouds slowly churn above and small waves gently glimmer.
Everything is moving. The compass needle wavers.
Always similar. Never the same.
Whitby Pier
Everything’s in motion - constantly changing. Follow one wave, follow one cloud. Look again and you’ve lost your visual grip. No point in trying to hang on – go with the flow!
Navigator
Intricate diagrams; colour coded graphs.
Vast data collected and presented.
But I can’t find my place on this map.
The compass has no needle.
The Changing Landscape
Two of my pieces are in a group show at Gallery 1313 – just in time for the next shut-down here in Ontario.
They’ll be sitting there in the dark in the good company of a really good show…
We’ll stick with Instagram for a little while longer: a small sacrifice if we can reduce suffering and save lives!
Width of Time
Many lived here before us and more will come after.
Were the streets different then? How will the buildings change?
If time was wide instead of long,
And if you stood very still,
You might hear more than you can see.
Slow Churn
Slowly churning.
Billowing out; expanding in one place, dissolving into thin vapour in another.
At a glance, it appears static. Over time, all of it is transitory.
Clouds, cities, everything is changing, growing, and passing away.
On earth and in the sky.
Frames
I’ve come to realize that I can never see things as they ‘really are’. There’s always some reference, preconception; some structure that frames what I perceive. Maybe, if I look through many different frames, I could reduce this self-imposed haze.
Occasionally, I have ocular migraines. They appear as visual disturbances: shimmering crystalline zig-zag shards of light slowly cross my field of vision. Through this glitch, I catch a glimpse of my brain working to assemble an image of my surroundings. I perceive the construction of the illusion of seeing.
Cloud Scapes
When you glance at the sky, the clouds appear still. Look again and they’ve changed. The same is true of the city. Brick, concrete, steel and stone: they all look permanent, solid and reliable. But give it some time. Everything will change.
I like the ambiguity in these pictures. You can’t see the whole thing at once. All the little pieces keep pulling your attention in different directions. Try to pin it down, but it wriggles away!
Navigating by Sky
NOAA provides weather charts for the Atlantic. Every day there’s a new composition, a new layout of the sky. Parts of the map never change: the grid and outlines of land. But what if it were the other way around? Clouds did not move, but the earth did. Every morning, your house, your work, your school, would be in slightly different places. You would consult the daily cloud chart to find your way; navigating by the sky.
Quest for the Environment
I am very happy and grateful to have two of my works included in the ‘TD Thor Wealth Management Juried Exhibition: Quest for the Environment’ . Due to covid, this is an ‘online only’ exhibit. To see the work, you navigate through a virtual space, as in a video game. Take a look. I’ve put the link in my profile. It’s a very interesting show!