Kate Terry: Diaphanous

Exhibition

November 2 – December 7, 2002

Project Description

In the context of the 2002-2003 season devoted to the diverse types of ‘proximities‘, physical, social or mental, which make up our immediate surroundings, Skol presents the work of Kate Terry.

This British artist examines the material reality of the exhibition space, in this case the large room at Skol. As starting points she uses the numerous ‘architectural incidents‘ which punctuate the space: electrical outlets, lighting rails, cracks in the floor, pipes, window frames and heating devices which break up the immaculate whiteness of the exhibition space. Using modest materials (coloured thread and pins) she links many of these points, weaving a wide web which mediates the space and highlights the idiosyncrasies of the room. This construction occupies the whole space; however, the curves of the threads almost become an invisible diaphanous form, leaving the gallery neither full nor empty. The thread is stretched to it‘s limit – this fragile tension is almost threatening. The simplicity of the materials, the sharp lines, precise geometry and the repetition of the configurations play in contradiction with the fragility, ephemerality and whimsical colour of the installation.

The process employed is based on “Symmography” (the craft of hammering a board with nails and tying and twisting thread onto the nails to make an image) but the optical illusion that is created recalls the laser lights of nightclubs and fractal patterns, allowing us to look at this familiar space with a new gaze.