Flight

Rebecca Smith

37 x 21 inches

2020

ARTIST STATEMENT

The failure of our species to work in tune with nature has made us outsiders to the natural world. In this transparent weaving I have created multiple layers to portray the distancing of humanity from nature. Birds are shown in flight behind a grid that symbolizes a barrier. To the viewer, nature is “out there” beyond the barrier while we are safe inside. Or is the barrier really a cage, and are we on the inside or the outside? Because the transparency technique allows variations in depth, the figures advance and recede when the piece is viewed from multiple angles, especially when allowed to turn freely in space, enhancing the “inside/outside” interchange.

MATERIALS

Linen, wool, rayon and metallic thread

Transparent weaving