THE TALKING HEADS AND THEIR PROCESS
A couple of years ago, I received an interesting commission.
I was given two sets of antelope horns and asked to make an art work.
I began by researching different artistic possibilities as well as the animals themselves, including where the horns had come from. I discovered that many hunters discard the horns of their kills and felt a great need to honour these remnants of those beautiful beings in some special way. This desire led me on a designing adventure:
The TALKING HEADS were born.
The horns are, for the moment, real. When and if I come to the end of the pile of discarded horns – which doesn’t look likely anytime soon- I will replace them with a synthetic alternative. But while there are real horns to be honoured I will continue to use them.
The heads are fibre glass casts, mostly old mounts which have been stripped, sterilised and prepared so that they can be wrapped in a collage of fabrics.
I select the materials for each work according to the way the horns speak to me and show me the shape of the animal’s personality. The way the eyes are positioned, the colours, the positioning of the patterns, each step is different for every head. Each head is different, every individual is unique.
As the nature of each individual emerges, so does the magic. The heads begin to ‘speak’ of things; of places and possibilities intangible and wonderful, which although hitherto incomprehensible, in their presence, seem as real as the wall on which they hang.
The short paragraphs included with each work tell the new owner about the individual and name the magic which they channel.
As the owner comes to know the artwork more intimately they will need no reminder of these things, for the subtle wonders that the heads impart will become an indispensable part of their lives.
AINE
TALKING DEER
SPRINGBOK
KOODOO VOODOO
BLAZE
HEKA
OBERON
KNIGHT OF EMPATHY
TIRESIAS
PUCK
THE ARABIAN KNIGHT
LUR
BORVO
FIONN
OGMA
HLIN
PAEON
ALASTOR
SHE SHEN
CLEMENTIA
DELLINGR
TYR
LUGH
AELF
PAPA LEGBA
LONO
SALA
