On
Breath
2002
Seven glass pieces, lead, wood, 16 ft long
x 4 ft x 14 inches
The
relationship of body to breath, matter to spirit, is explored in this work
through an attempt to make the invisible take visible form.
These glass forms are held in tension
through the application of heat, cold, human breath and physical movement. They appear at different moments of
contraction, expansion and transformation: are they a series of enunciations, vessels, skins, bodies or
sacred objects?
On Breath was sited in the Triforium of
Gloucester Cathedral, a space where traditionally women sat during
services. The placing of the work
sets up a relationship between the glass and lead of the sculpture and the
cathedral windows. The shapes of the objects play upon the transformation of
hot silica into ‘bullions’, expanding discs of material traditionally blown for
use as stained glass.