TITLE:
Punched 3611 times,
Folded multiple times,
Finally stood up.

MATERIALS: Foam-backed Vinyl Flooring, Steel Tube
SIZE: 8ft(h)x5ft(w)x4ft(d)

The reason for the aesthetic of folds in my sculpture is that it is a progression of earlier work which I have done on a smaller scale on the theme “Folded: Repetition, Distraction, Comfort”. This context came from a personal realisation that at times of stress, illness and grief distraction can offer an escape, time to heal and comfort. For me I needed this during and after my fathers diagnosis and death from bowel cancer and it was this that made me reassess my own life and make the decision to pursue my artistic ambitions and set me on this journey. I wanted to produce a sculpture that represented the journey to heal and recover - the folds are a metaphor for distraction techniques. People can choose to do tasks which range from jigsaws, knitting to distract, or in the extreme self harm or rocking movement - which can become a natural defence - to repress emotions that are unmanageable. The key is that the distraction is most effective if it is repetitive and the fold is my choice to represent that. The number of folds and their variety represents a measure of the journey.
The varied widths of folds represent how distraction techniques are not always as effective at different times; the folds will become calmer and smaller to signify comfort. I have chosen to thread the material on steel ( to illude to personal strength or support that you need to find ) and I have bent into organic aesthetic that reaches for the sky to represent life and growth. The material was chosen for its connection to the domestic and home, and because using ‘floor’ in a sculptural way that reaches up - underlines the escape that distraction does offer visually lifting you off the floor. For me, creativity is my escape.

The work is titled “Punched 3611 times, Folded multiple times, Finally stood up.”

This title underlines both the context and the making of the piece for which I punched 3611 holes to be able to thread the work.