Those who Weep 1

The series Those Who Weep is part of my ongoing experimentation with the medium of woollen dust and archival glue on paper. In an earlier (ongoing) series I began to fragment the image into a pattern of dots of colour suggesting something viewed through and partially obscured by, a latticework screen. Both series allude to our need to experience selectively anything that may be too difficult or challenging to face directly. This is of course how our unconscious protects us from too much that may hurt us. In these images it is our relationship with the natural environment that concerns us and how we can’t always face the knowledge of the destruction and pain around us. The title refers to our difficulty in recognising our role in the problems we see. We may weep, but can we live differently and commit to doing less harm, including, in the end, to ourselves? In fact these images are fragments of photographs of musicians singing or playing musical instruments. The medium here has the appearance of felt against the paper background. In fact the woollen 'dust' is applied in dust form to individually painted areas of glue in a slow and painstaking process. The felt-like surface is reminiscent of children's craft or toys. It suggests the transience of our dust-to-dust presence, and perhaps also an idea somehow cushioned or softened to make it less painful.