From the circle of life to the fabric of life – life versus art/art versus life – value and worth – the fragility of life versus the permanence of objects – so many of the themes running frequently through my work have come together over this past week, it seems. Circles have been a dominant theme and running around in them, quite literally, this past week is what it’s been about.
As well as two new pieces of work going out into the world, there’s been a lot of emotion around, associated with the embroidery hoops and powder puffs. Both works are comprised of evocative materials,taken from my late grandmother’s house; these specific objects, highly emotionally charged – fabrics in the first instance and then, one of the powder puffs from a group of five which I mentioned in my previous post here. I included these sentiments in a short piece of text I wrote about my powder puff work, ‘Smells like the Past’ …
‘Smells like the past …’
smell: odour, scent, whiff, aroma, fragrance, perfume, bouquet
Scent is transportive and the perfumes associated with various chapters of our lives, often memorable.
These powder-laden puffs, salvaged from compacts, impregnated with perfumes from the past are steeped with the smells of age, imbued with a strong sense of history and of use. They emit a generic, floral kind of smell that transports me right back to my childhood, to moments spent with my Nana, when as a special treat, I was allowed to sit at her dressing table and play with her face creams, powder puffs, beige-coloured powder and lipsticks.
And then, to those later, awkward teenage years when everything mattered, mistakes felt insurmountable and ‘getting it right’ was crucial, not least, the art of applying make up. Pointers were everywhere – 1970s Petticoat and Jackie magazines were full of make-up tips, helping teenage girls to get it right in order to find the boy of their dreams.
In the midst of everything, my elderly Mum had an emergency admission into hospital , where she remains. It’s been a week of high emotions and pressure, having an install of 20 embroidery hoops on the cards, too – and 25 more to go.
It’s easy to conjure up (imagine, even) all sorts of coincidences and connections when your brain’s on high alert, I think, and I’ve seen them everywhere – the circle of life being particularly pertinent over the past few days. There’s nothing quite like being in a hospital ward full of ill, elderly patients to be reminded of the impermenance and fragility of human existence.
