Blood on Silk: Magenta I 2015, canvas, paint wood and satin ribbon, 285 x 285 (h)cm
This work Blood on Silk: Magenta, 2015, 285 x 285 cm, ribbon, paint and canvas was selected for the group exhibition Unfolded curated by Beata Geyer at West Gallery in Hazelbrook. In this work the codified pattern of eight drops of blood falling from one metre onto a hard surface is further coded into a weaving pattern, using satin ribbons and solid canvas. Through variations of the dyed colour magenta and the reflective properties of the satin weave in the ribbon, the work responds to the position of the viewer relative to the angle of light as a photonic device. In addition the location of the work in the gallery space exposes the sideways view of the work to the casual passing viewer in the corridor. Magenta as a name for a colour has been linked with war and bloodshed since the name of the aniline dyestuff Fuchsine was changed in 1859 to magenta to celebrate the French victory at the battle of Magenta in Northern Italy. Photo Credit Alex Gooding
Blood on Silk: Magenta No Exit 2016, canvas,
paint wood and satin ribbon, 285 x 285 (h)cm
Two additional works were made to complete the series of three
Instructional signs aim to provide to clear unambiguous delivery of information independent of the context of the location. Jean Paul Satre's play Huis Clos has been translated into the English term No Exit; however the original French can also mean all doors are closed, there is no way out, not just that this specific location is not an exit.
This tension between the specific and the general informs this work locating it in the tension or crisis of the Intensive care unit where between death as a way out and the reluctance to accept death is sometimes immediately inevitable, are overlaid with the claustrophobia where all doors are closed.
Blood on Silk: DNR 2016, canvas, paint wood and satin ribbon, 285 x 285 (h)cm
DNR is shorthand for do not resuscitate. This can be a crucial medical instruction if the patient or person experiences a situation where their heart stops beating or they stop breathing.Issued by a doctor It instructs the attending medical staff not to attempt CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation in that situation. The instruction is generally written after consultation with the patient and their carers/family. The process of administering CPR is brutal and can severely damage a frail aged body.
The issues of DNR’s being issued on mass without adequate consultation was uncovered by a study written by the UK Care Quality Commission during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The report found that more than 500 people in aged care were put on do-not-resuscitate orders without their consent. In one nursing home it was reported that all patients over the age of eighty who had been diagnosed with dementia were issued with a DNR instruction without either their or their families consent.
