Space and Cosmos

In 2001 / 02 my wife and I lived in Marrakesh. During our stay I worked on a series of stitched and stained leather pieces inspired by the geometric designs and rich tactility of the carved plaster surfaces in the Ibn Yusef Medrassa. The space within the designs mesmerized me and seemed to induce a meditative state of mind.

In my leather pieces I strove to create similar spaces. I later switched materials to create such pieces as Coca Cola Cosmos out of rubber and coke cans. This shift in materials seemed in itself to create a tension related to contemporary issues within the otherwise harmonious composition.

I started working in wood in order to create larger and more complex compositions. Future Fire is constructed from layers of plywood forms cutout, assembled and painted. It is roughly based on Future Maitreya, a Buddhist wall mural in the Royal Ontario Museum. The contemplative space within the Buddhist mural was the source of the initial motivation but the imagery of flames, intersecting circles and the geometric composition of Future Fire are drawn from creation and destruction mythologies in the Bible, the Vedas and the Koran.

I think the reason that I enjoy the spaces created through geometric forms is that the space created is non-specific and therefore can be imbued with whatever content I, or a viewer, want.