Recently I've been thinking of my silk paper art work and my relationship with it. It all started with an interview published on Who Hub (You can read the interview here). Then I bought some spotlights and started seriously exploring shadows and translucency in my work. By hanging the silk paper cuts in space and lighting them in various ways it really opened up a new dimension to what is normally seen as a 2D artform. Now I have discovered a whole new direction within my silk paper cutting work.
As an example here's a new piece I've been working on for some time. Called Butterfly Cloud it is approx 65cm diameter and cut in four colours. Clouds are light as are butterflies. They seem to hang effortlessly in space and yet they are constantly moving and evolving as if possessed by a life giving energy.
The first picture shows the blue version hanging and lit from the front which throws a shadow on the wall behind.
Here's the same one but lit from the back creating a very dark yet graphic image. There are two butterflies enjoying the cloud.
There's a butterfly fluttering in a gap in the clouds. It is almost like a cave with tree roots spreading through the open space.
For these two pictures I layered two colours together slightly off centre and backlit the work. The result is always unexpected and revealing. I like the translucence and the way the colours play off one another.
1 comment:
You're getting good at this lighting lark pretty fast! Maybe your time at CTS/WNO is contributing something...
The mark on the background in the second picture looks a little like a butterfly. It got me thinking... could there be a way to backlight parts of the cut while front or sidelighting others? Or vice-versa? Maybe cool in terms of narrative as well as visually - a kind of 'figure and ground' effect (?)
I'm really enjoying these illuminations!
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