Sluice   2016

I taught a course on the skeletal system this summer – not just the anatomy but the embodiment of — and for weeks my bones were speaking more loudly than usual. These pieces came out of that experience of bone – in particular the vibration of bone. The mineral content of bone creates a crystalline structure that can support weight and it can also transmit sound. That physical experience of vibration showed up on the page as a deep blue. Looking at the images now I am reminded not of bone but of ice and deep water. What is the relationship between bone and polar icecaps? I don’t know. The bones break down and build back up again, and so can ice – both are crystalline structures that can change form. But there is something else here – the fluid nature of being – that can’t be explicated so easily.

The source of work isn’t necessarily the only thing the work is about. What comes through is something nonverbal and a little mysterious and that can be interpreted in different ways. ‘Sluice’ refers to a narrow passage through which water is channeled. It’s also a verb meaning to run water over, as in mining, to rinse the dirt from the gold or silver.