Blackbird Song (1-2) 2021
VHS Magnetic tape embroidered on prepared canvas I 45 x 74 cm
Sacred Inscriptions (buzz) 2021
Sublimation print on polyester textile I Dimensions variable
Cosmic Mountain (swhish) (1-3) 2021
Etched copper plate I 33 x 50 cm
In some cultures, the blackbird is seen as a sacred creature that bridges the physical and spiritual worlds; a symbol of death and rebirth. Stretching VHS tape, in a gentle manner so that it doesn’t break becomes a metaphoric act of manipulating time and transformation: The new material, a semiflexible shiny thread is then used to stitch a series of drawings reminischent of natural forms through an intuitive repetition of lines. A processed photograph of a pattern carved in the wood of a branch by female beetles and their larvae is hung in the corner softening the edges of the space, titled Sacred Insciptions it remains ambiguous about the nature of these drawings. An etched copper plate displays what seems like a geological landscape. In fact it's the topographical 3D rendering produced digitally of a micro imprint and the magic of photogravure to transfer it onto copper. The drawing is made by erosion of the material in the same way that nature is drawn.
© Vanessa Enríquez