*Click on the photographs for an in-depth explanation of each painting
Beneath the Veil of Drooping Lashes
Title: Beneath the Veil of Drooping Lashes
Material: Lace, pigments, shellac, conte, chalk on silk, gold, acrylic panels
Size: 124 cm x 84 cm
Year: 2024
The third piece I presented during the Summer show is a 3-paneled installation.
This piece is more of an experimental piece into materiality. The initial idea I had for this installation was a four paneled installation piece to be placed opposite the other two paintings. 3 panels were supposed to feature woven paintings and one panel sandwiched silk fibres. However, due to a shortage of time, I eventually settled on 3 panels.
At the very beginning, I contemplated arranging the works in one of the two formats mentioned above. However, this idea did not come to fruition due to the limitation of space. Eventually, I settled for the following arrangement of works:
Detailed shot of panel containing woven silk and lace
This panel is made up of woven silk, lace, and gold
Building on the feedback of Unit 2, I wanted to explore greater possibilities within my practice. Weaving (further elaborated under Methods, processes and materials) , soon became compelling to me. Given the time spent working on it , and the way in which , through the repetition of gestures, the work carries memory of the time spent, acting as a non- numerical marker of time.
At this point, I would just like to elaborate more on how I create my woven painted silk pieces.
Firstly, I paint on the silk.
I start by painting on silk. Like past works, I rely on memory drawing for this step.This layer serves as the foundation, much like the base layer of a memory.
For the piece presented at the summer show, I painted flowers:
1. Flowers are a very intimate memory in many important events like weddings, and graduations.
2. As something that has a lifespan, it has an ability to act as a marker of time.
3. Another reason is that this piece was an experimental piece as it was the first time working with a loom. Initially, I tried using my usual painting style of working with lines and the empty spaces. However, the outcome was not what I wanted as when I fragmented the painting into silk strips, the lines were not visible. Flowers are one of the things that is easy for me to paint. Hence, I decided to use flowers in my trial pieces.
Secondly, I cut up the silk into strips of about 0.5cm.
This step represents the fragmentation and compartmentalisation of memories.
In my opinion, when I retrieve memories through the process of memory drawings, I often retrieve it piece by piece, instead of as a whole. Additionally, memories have a transient quality to them which gives them a fragmented quality too.
By cutting the silk into narrow strips, it mirrors this concept. Each strip holds a a slice of time that is both independent and interconnected. This act of cutting also symbolizes the passage of time and the way moments are dissected and preserved in our minds.
Lastly I weave the silk strips together.
Weaving these strips back together is a process of reconstruction,creating continuity from disjointed moments. This replicates how we piece back our memories to form a complete story/ narrative.
Most importantly, the repetitive motion of weaving itself serves as an articulation of time.
Apart from the woven painting, this panel also features a piece of draped lace.This lace was designed by me and then outsourced to a Venetian lacemaker to complete. The design of this lace was inspired by the wedding I attended in Japan.
Silk has always been an important part of my practice. Moving on from Unit 2, I realized that Lace is another material that carries a sense of intimacy and has an ability to articulate time. The process of lace creation is no less "time consuming and labour intensive" than silk (Barnard College, 2016). Hence, each thread in the lace fabric can be also seen as a marker of a moment. When pieced together, the lace fabric symbolises the passage of time.
Apart from its ability to articulate time, lace also has the ability to represent intimacy and memory. This is because in Western culture, lace has traditionally been associated with significant life events, such as weddings and christenings (Sandhu, 2023). This means that lace embodies the significance of both personal and collective memory.
Lastly, I was also interested in experimenting with lace as a material as I consistently paint female figures and the feminine experience. In my opinion, lace is somewhat aligned with this theme. This is because lace has traditionally been associated with femininity (Wu, 2024). Hence, I pondered over the possibility of using lace to enhance the feminine experience narrated.
I choose to drape the lace instead of hanging it taut as draping conveys a sense of softness and vulnerability. These are emotions I generally associate with life events such as weddings.
Detailed shot of panel containing draped lace
The panel also features draped lace. It was a last-minute alteration. As I had not fully mastered the craft of weaving during the preparation for the Summer Exhibition, the work I prepared for this panel unexpectedly failed. The work was stuck in the loom, and I was unable to retrieve it from the machine for the show without destroying it.
This lace was designed by me and then outsourced to a Venetian lacemaker to complete. This piece of lace was more of an experimental piece.
Overall, I prefer using lace over silk in my work. It might seem superficial, but silk is a much smoother fabric.It is an aesthetic I very much prefer to be presented in my work. However, given it’s transparency, it is also an interesting fabric to experiment layering with.
Detailed shot of panel featuring silk fibres sandwiched between acrylic sheets
This panel features silk fibers sandwiched between acrylic sheets. This experimental piece was inspired by my visit to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica (where Van Gogh painted his Montmartre series) in France. While sitting on the stairs, gazing at the sky, I was struck by the beauty of the clouds, which reminded me of the delicate silk fibers I incorporate into my works. This moment of reflection became the foundation for this piece.
View of the Eiffel Tower from the stairs of Sacre-Coeur Basilica
Sacre-Coeur Basilica's sky
As I have elaborated in Unit 2, under 'methods, processes and techniques', silk fibers serve as an articulation of time and memory within my work. Each strand of silk encapsulates the passage of moments, embodying the fragility and continuity of life. By choosing to sandwich these fibers between acrylic sheets, I strived to capture the pure essence of life’s journey, emphasizing the importance of memory and the passage of time in my work.
In context of other works in the show:
Challenge:
Unlike the other two paintings I presented during the summer show, this work is not as reliant on lighting . However due to the panel with acrylic sheets, I struggled with the positioning of this piece of work. This is because the silk fibre sandwiched between the acrylic sheets is white. Hence, when placed in front of a white background, the silk fibres are not visible.
However, with the help of the technical team, I was eventually able to place it in a way which fully showcases its details.
During the Summer Exhibition, I received feedback regarding how the curation of this wall was visually appealing. As my classmate Xinyu's works feature female figures, many felt that it matches the feminity of 'Wrinkled Time' beside it, as well as 'Beneath the Veil of Drooping Lashes' on the right. Additionally, we both explore topics concerning the feminine experience.
Experimentation
This entire work is an experiment into materiality.
The following shows some experimentation surrounding weaving:
Experimenting with weave distance and thread width
Experimenting with imagery on the canvas
=> my usual style of working with lines and the blank space does not work. This is because when the lines are disrupted by cutting up the silk and further disrupted by the threads, the lines are barely visible. Hence, I shifted towards painting with more colours
Another failed piece=> I pulled the threads too tight on the loom and a segment of the threads broke=> this interfered with the weaving process
Experimenting with frames:
Experimenting with lace:
The Venetian lace maker I worked with introduced me to different types of lace available on the market
I also visited the Lace Museum in Venice to research more about the history and possibilities of lace :
Entrance of 'Museo del Merletto' , also known as 'The Lace Museum'
Map tracing the history and origins of lace
Example of artwork created with lace
Vintage lace in the museum
Samples of vintage lace in the museum
Feedback:
Post summer exhibition, I took part in an exhibition with Espacio Gallery with one panel from 'Beneath the Vein of Drooping Lashes'. Gavin Edmonds happened to drop by and he gave me some advice about how my practice can go forward from here. One of the advice he gave was to explore the possibilities of experimenting with colors on the acrylic sheets.
Over summer, I was busy trying to master the craft of using the loom so I did not have time to thoroughly experiment with this idea. However, I did experiment with laser printing on acrylic sheets. This particular piece was created with the idea of rainbows amongst clouds.
I elaborate further on this under 'Additional Content' .
Barnard College (2016). Lace Making – A Time Consuming Work – Original Use and Space. [online] Barnard.edu. Available at: https://bt.barnard.edu/ave2016/project-2/lace/lace-making/ [Accessed 20 Nov. 2024].
Sandhu, N. (2023). Explore the Allure of Lace Wedding Gowns | The Sewing HQ. [online] Thesewinghq.co.uk. Available at: https://www.thesewinghq.co.uk/blog/post/lace-fabrics-in-bridal-couture:-from-classic-traditions-to-modern-bridal-lace-looks [Accessed 20 Nov. 2024].
Wu, C. (2024). A Sheer Dive Into Lace: How it weaves Femininity, Elegance, and Power Together — BARE Magazine. [online] Baremagazine.org. Available at: https://baremagazine.org/A-Sheer-Dive-Into-Lace-How-it-weaves-Femininity-Elegance-and-Power.