I’ve spent most of my college time these past two years focusing on life, death and rebirth. These themes have provided a continuous strand throughout the works I have made to date. I was undecided for a long time about how I might tackle this 'Cube' project, but I had an early idea to feature a tree in my design. I thought that the roots could act as support for my cube, somewhat like a tree house. The square sits mid-way with the head looking out. The side of my cube features the branches of the tree which emanate from the figures head. Life cannot be contained in a box; we build houses and they decay with time and nature takes over. Yet we are bound to the earth through our roots; our ancestors and all that has gone before. This is what I wanted to convey, and I feel that I have.
I had wanted to use light for this installation which is so very bright in itself it almost glows in full outdoor light. The roots look fabulous when light shines through them and casts shadows onto walls floors and ceilings, however this does give it a more sinister vibe.
I made a cutwork mandala for the back of the box and an internal emanates from the back of the head and oases through the mandala and onto a wall behind. Also, the light shines through onto the Perspex paintings side and also onto the floral details of the plaster relief, opposite.
If I were to develop this installation further, the mandala would be made into a stained-glass window and would’ve been bigger; filling the whole square. I think a stained glass would introduce another aspect of spirituality and would work well with the theme. I had considered introducing colour to a few areas of this installation, for example, I wanted to paint the tips of the roots red so that they might suggest veins, but the piece appeared to me to present a visual strength being kept white; it gives the piece a ghostly vibe. It’s not just any tree. I also considered putting leaves onto the branches with some hanging from the branches as if they were tumbling away from the branches. It didn’t feel necessary. I could have added colour; maybe the leaves could have been like fire, representing a phoenix and its mythical powers of rebirth. The possibilities around adding colour may still be explored at a different date.
To view my full online sketchbook for this project, follow the link below.
https://spark.adobe.com/page/D0XZOaYvV4Wlw/
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