102 x 80 cm
Framed: Red/brown wood frame, light green matte, with glass
Variety of papers, threads, gouache on Japanese paper
I am a fan of the fan! I like it as a shape, and as a sculptural form, with its oriental overtones.
Memories float, of heat-wave days in the (un-air conned) classroom, our childish hands folding them, concertina- style, for some small relief!
Or... of a perfume-scented aunt or mother wielding prized ones vigorously in some public setting or another...
Fans remind me of lives, each with their own distinct character; having a span of days numbered, ordered, one following another, until completion.
When opened fully, the whole pattern is revealed, but you can't see it at the time...
Here I have made them in various states (pristine through to disintegrating), and stages of opening.
Like lives, paper is fragile, although strengthened by strategic "folding".
White cyclamens are also easily crushed, yet stand up well in their "whiteness"!
I celebrate the mystery intact.
