“Tragic Reality”
- Glass kiln cast
- 57 cm x 53 cm
A 4 piece cast sculptural form in black glass powder. with a fused and slumped 3 mm dichroic glass overlay I first began this project in 2001 when I created a ceramic version – the original, then this year I had a bronze made. I have the mould from which I will be able to create it in different mediums in many different ways.
The original ceramic sculpture came about as a result of my reaction to the injuries to my body, punctured lung, shattered shoulder and broken collar bone and all the internal unseen and undiagnosed and medically discounted trauma hidden but lingering in the fibre of my being. From that sculpture the rest followed as a natural progression of what I am.
The brilliance of life’s inescapable energy bursts from the thin shell whilst below in stark contrast lies the blackened inert legacy of injury, pain and loss.The right ½ torso intact, black, hides the tragedy and holds it tight within.
The Left ½ torso without its shell reveals the disconnectedness separated into compartments of trauma. The shell has slipped and what is in front of me is my reality. This cast piece in glass is linked to the glass shards that penetrated my face, arms and legs after my head shattered the side window in the car. The poems “Sliced Slices Slice” and “Set In Glass” continue this theme.