WEEK 4X fascinates me with its multiplicity, its refusal to be confined to one meaning. One of my favorite descriptions is from X Artists Books:
“X is a connection, a multiplier, a kiss, a proxy. X is a signature, a mark; it stands for treasure, uncharted territory, the core of infinity. X is mysterious and surprising. X attracts and repels; X learns from correction. X marks the spot.”
I’ve been thinking about language
a lot recently. Specifically, its failures and limitations. The imperfect container that language creates for human consciousness. Language controls how we understand the world. A prism; a prison.
Phase 1. Used jeans, paint, spray paint, thread. X marks the spot.
I’ve been thinking about the gaps
in language: redactions, what’s missing, what’s left out or hard to see, opacity. What can’t we see? What don’t we know? Does the unseen influence us without our knowledge and if so, how?
Phase 2. Sand and paint added. Negative redactions.
I’ve been thinking about failure.
We create stories and systems that make us feel like we are in control. We compartmentalize and rationalize. But what happens when the containers fail? What happens when (to quote William S. Burroughs) “the future leaks out”?
Phase 3. Acrylic drips added. Signs of leaking.
I’ve been thinking about repetition,
ritual and process. Making, re-making, cutting, scraping, spraying, hiding, revealing, moving, re-moving, over and over. And what of the in-between space, the so-called “negative” space, the silhouette? Is a message coming through? Is this working? Should I try again?
Phase X. The explorations continue…