Eighteen Hundred Times, Two
Tess Snaden
See it On Campus: Level 1
Visitor Info
Eighteen Hundred Times, Two consists of two irregular trapezoidal panels wrapped in thread, leaning on each other, creating a sense of support and structure. From its name to the method of construction, Eighteen Hundred Times, Two relates to time. While time is the most prominent theme, the materials pull from the domestic and craft, bringing questions of home and construction into the conversation. The colours and spacing of threads investigates if, and how, play and control can coexist. Home and the body, control and play, faith in repetition, accumulation and time, how we construct and settle, how we build and shelter, how we express and repress; are all themes at work in Eighteen Hundred Times, Two.
I began using this repetitive method of wrapping while researching home. My intent for this research topic was to deepen my understanding of home, the construction of it, how it had been taught to me and the differences in home relating to person and body. A resolution I have come to through following this research topic is the comparison of house to home and place to space.
Space describes the intimacy of physicality, whereas home is a state of being – disconnected from physicality all together. If home is a state and the body is the site of home it is irresponsible to ignore the discrepancies of access to that state. Home is a feeling of safety and comfort. While I believe that everyone deserves to feel at home in their body, the sentiment falls short placing the responsibility on the individual while the dominant culture remains one of oppression and exclusion.
Making from a place of home looks like listening, following and letting go. The series of wrapping has allowed me to shed the notion of failure; opening space for what might grow when I release the fear of doing it incorrectly. These pieces are records of time, growth, change and contemplation. Everything is made up of a million other things, Eighteen Hundred Times, Two is no exception.
Pull – Magnet – Static
Wrapped thread on board, 25” x 25” x 80” , 2022
Pull – Magnet – Static continues from the series The Wrappings. Similar in form to Eighteen Hundred Times, Two, Pull – Magnet – Static is distinct in contrast. By alternating threads black-white-black-white this piece begins to vibrate. With little manipulation while wrapping the varying tension between the two colours, push or pull one forward or behind – this creates fields of white or black throughout the board. In parallel with the theme of time, Pull – Magnet – Static focuses on the unexplainable force of attraction.
Eighteen Hundred Times, Two and Pull – Magnet – Static are the most recent pieces from my series The Wrappings. This series explores the material language of wrapping, pulling from the pace of handicraft and a personal faith in repetition.
