sanding pattern series: coming out of the light  

the process of creating my pierced ceramic lights serendipitously gave rise to this series of photographic prints which formed part of my exhibition making space held at the alliance francaise in november 2008.   

the creation of the lights involves using a drill when the ceramic is not yet completely dry. as a result, burrs are formed on either side of the vessel. when the vessels are fully dried, they are sanded to create a smooth texture. the residual particles and dust fall through the holes forming patterns on the surface that i am working on.

i have worked with pattern for many years and they are derived from a variety of sources. i have explored many ways in which pattern can be applied to the vessel. in these works, pattern is created by drilling with a small drill called a dremel – which means little dream in yiddish.

while the initial patterns are worked out on the vessel, and then drilled, this secondary/remnant pattern is a by product of the working process.

i love that the patterns come out of the light and that the actual patterns are only dust – documented and then discarded. the photograph documents something which has a finite existence and ceases at a certain point to exist in its original form. the photograph serves as a memory of something ”lost”, but also reasserts itself as a more permanent visual image, as the photograph.  

the lights are functional/physical objects but they are also symbolic. the pierced surface lets through an intangible light which mirrors the impermanent image created by the dust and particles. the process of making the lights and the pattern print records the intangible qualities of time, silences and patience. many of the lights break in the process; they are very fragile when they are dry.

the experience of capturing, losing and reincarnating a fleeting moment reinforced my conviction that experience is in and of the moment: the visual image, born in the moment, always irresistibly, stubbornly and magically endures beyond that moment.