Mixed Media  2003

 

  

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This series of works [Arcane Specimens] continues my fascination with the use of natural objects as raw material, including seeds, seed-pods, bones, shells and seaweed. I have a large collection gathered over many years from woods, beaches, pavements, gardens and kitchens. Some of this has been donated by friends who know what I do and save all sorts of items for me. By taking apart and reassembling this material it is transformed into new and unique composite forms, hybrid objects that are simultaneously familiar and alien.

 

A piece will often originate from the combination of two or more disparate objects that have some affinity - perhaps a similar colour or an interlocking shape - and then evolves by a process of trial and error as I attempt to find other elements that will 'fit'. I work on several pieces at once, each one growing slowly, almost organically, sometimes taking several months to complete. The processes involved are painstaking, yet intuitive, and require great attention to detail, although the final object may appear deceptively simple. I am constantly surprised and excited by the results of these investigations and by the richness and subtlety of the material with which I work.

 

Originally I imagined these objects as physical representations of obscure textbook diagrams or illlustrations, which is why they are divided into volumes - these pieces are all from Volumes 1 & 2 - and I have attempted to reinforce this idea with accompanying annotations and inscriptions. These 'texts' have been constructed in a similar way to the objects, combining apparently incompatible elements from a number of sources. Each contains a record of the material used, translated from English, character by character, into equivalents from different alphabets such as Coptic, ancient Indian and various magical scripts. I hoped to create a new and cryptic description, often with additional random symbols, that would have some correlation to and enhance the strangeness of the object. I have deliberately chosen not to itemize the contents of each piece, preferring that they retain their charm and mystery by remaining ambiguous.

 

These ‘arcane specimens’ can be seen as part of an esoteric museum collection, alternative botanical/zoological samples or the possible results of genetic experimentation. They also reflect the way we are attracted to, apprehensive of and repulsed by the natural world.