The show comprised a large linocut, several sculptures made mostly from PVC-insulated wire and a blind embossing. The works continued my exploration of materials, process and pattern in a series of structures which made reference to a variety of objects and systems, from growth configurations to networks and grids, juxtaposing simplicity and complexity.
Photos by Bob Cnoops.
Fan, 2007, linocut, 150 x 110cm
The composition was created by repeated iterations of a single straight line whose successive position and orientation was determined by a simple set of rules. Such rigid rules and a straight line gave rise to an image which was quickly complex and surprisingly organic. I showed this first in my exhibition ‘Array’. Once again, Artist Proof Studio printed.
Span, 2007, PVC-insulated wire, copper wire, 140 x 100 x 100cm
I began with the central trunk, binding together 4096 lengths of wire together. At the first bifurcation I divided the bundle in two and proceeded in this way until I reached the outermost ‘branches’ which are 16 strands thick. I would later explore this bifurcation in a few works in my 2015 show ‘Elemental‘.
Fan, 2007, PVC-insulated wire, copper wire, approximately 1,8 x 1,8m
As in the previous work, I began with a bundle of several thousand lengths of wire and repeatedly halved the bundles, flattening the object and proceeding outwards until I was left with a fringe of single strands.
Fan (detail)
I carved this branching motif into linoleum and then printed it as blind embossing with the help of Andrea Steer, then printmaking technician at UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art, and now of The Print Kitchen, with whom I would work much later.
Cord, 2007, PVC-insulated wire, dimensions variable
I started with a length of ribbon wire which I split and wove into itself, creating an object that resembled the flow of water or smoke with eddies peeling off left and right.
Paul Edmunds 