Transition & Influence Gallery - Fiona Davies's Statement

The Gallery of Contemporary Textile Artists

Fiona Davies
Australia

Artist's Statement
My current work is a three year, cross disciplinary, project called, Blood on Silk, collaborating with Dr Peter Domachuk, ARC Postdoctoral fellow, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Dr Lee Anne Hall, UTS, a writer, and myself.

The cross-disciplinary collaboration arose from an accidental intersection when I undertook an installation in the foyer of the School of Physics in 2010. That work titled Memorial / Double Pump Laplace II, was the second in a series of three, site-specific installations, loosely based on narratives from the dying and death of my father, in 2001, located in architectural spaces important in how Dad defined himself. In this work I use narratives of blood - transfusion, testing and sampling. While I was developing this work I became aware of Domachuk's research project which adds new layers through the study of silk implantable microchips to allow real time measurement of the properties of blood while that blood is still circulating within the body. These silk microchips are refined, transparent and dissolvable therefore disposable - a biophotonic chip.

In that work is the idea that within the body's circulatory system relatively impermeable membranes are often selectively permeable; objects make their own way where they choose and in their own time. The materials used in the work also function as membranes that separate, allowing some things to pass and some to be caught or retained. The silk cover is translucent rather than perfectly transparent as in the microchips and so limits the amount of visual information that is allowed to pass.

Within the collaboration we will be looking at a whole range of scientific, cultural, economic, technological, architectural and aesthetic intersections and exchanges; - from the materiality of silk, the cultural history of silk; 'silk routes' pathways of exchange; the materiality of the refined silk / fibrion, transparent, castable or mouldable; its water content and method of drying drives dissolvability and disposability; through to human rights issues arising from other uses of implantable chips; issues of surveillance or monitoring.
Download Artist's biography || Download Artist's CV
Artist's Statement
My current work is a three year, cross disciplinary, project called, Blood on Silk, collaborating with Dr Peter Domachuk, ARC Postdoctoral fellow, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Dr Lee Anne Hall, UTS, a writer, and myself.

The cross-disciplinary collaboration arose from an accidental intersection when I undertook an installation in the foyer of the School of Physics in 2010. That work titled Memorial / Double Pump Laplace II, was the second in a series of three, site-specific installations, loosely based on narratives from the dying and death of my father, in 2001, located in architectural spaces important in how Dad defined himself. In this work I use narratives of blood - transfusion, testing and sampling. While I was developing this work I became aware of Domachuk's research project which adds new layers through the study of silk implantable microchips to allow real time measurement of the properties of blood while that blood is still circulating within the body. These silk microchips are refined, transparent and dissolvable therefore disposable - a biophotonic chip.

In that work is the idea that within the body's circulatory system relatively impermeable membranes are often selectively permeable; objects make their own way where they choose and in their own time. The materials used in the work also function as membranes that separate, allowing some things to pass and some to be caught or retained. The silk cover is translucent rather than perfectly transparent as in the microchips and so limits the amount of visual information that is allowed to pass.

Within the collaboration we will be looking at a whole range of scientific, cultural, economic, technological, architectural and aesthetic intersections and exchanges; - from the materiality of silk, the cultural history of silk; 'silk routes' pathways of exchange; the materiality of the refined silk / fibrion, transparent, castable or mouldable; its water content and method of drying drives dissolvability and disposability; through to human rights issues arising from other uses of implantable chips; issues of surveillance or monitoring.
Download Artist's biography || Download Artist's CV
Artist's Statement
My current work is a three year, cross disciplinary, project called, Blood on Silk, collaborating with Dr Peter Domachuk, ARC Postdoctoral fellow, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Dr Lee Anne Hall, UTS, a writer, and myself.

The cross-disciplinary collaboration arose from an accidental intersection when I undertook an installation in the foyer of the School of Physics in 2010. That work titled Memorial / Double Pump Laplace II, was the second in a series of three, site-specific installations, loosely based on narratives from the dying and death of my father, in 2001, located in architectural spaces important in how Dad defined himself. In this work I use narratives of blood - transfusion, testing and sampling. While I was developing this work I became aware of Domachuk's research project which adds new layers through the study of silk implantable microchips to allow real time measurement of the properties of blood while that blood is still circulating within the body. These silk microchips are refined, transparent and dissolvable therefore disposable - a biophotonic chip.

In that work is the idea that within the body's circulatory system relatively impermeable membranes are often selectively permeable; objects make their own way where they choose and in their own time. The materials used in the work also function as membranes that separate, allowing some things to pass and some to be caught or retained. The silk cover is translucent rather than perfectly transparent as in the microchips and so limits the amount of visual information that is allowed to pass.

Within the collaboration we will be looking at a whole range of scientific, cultural, economic, technological, architectural and aesthetic intersections and exchanges; - from the materiality of silk, the cultural history of silk; 'silk routes' pathways of exchange; the materiality of the refined silk / fibrion, transparent, castable or mouldable; its water content and method of drying drives dissolvability and disposability; through to human rights issues arising from other uses of implantable chips; issues of surveillance or monitoring.
Download Artist's biography || Download Artist's CV
Artist's Statement
I work with light, space and the process of visual perception. Here I respond to existing spaces and environments and look at elements that are specific to the location. With minimal changes I relay focus and concentration redefining and analyzing the visual world. I try to capture a source that creates a heightened sense on how we see and how this affects us. The spectator plays an active role in discovering the work as it reveals its self. Sensing the space and how light influences our orientation is part of the process that brings the viewer to a new visual awareness. It is important to submit to my installations and take the time to process and experience it. At a first glance it is likely that nothing substantial can be seen. The eye needs time to adjust.

I often make installations on location which are temporary. Every space and environment brings new ideas and requires an approach specific to the site. Deciding on what materials to use is partially drawn from experience but remains intuitive. Materials used can be foil, Plexiglas, textile, pigment, thread, smoke, water. Basically anything that captures reflects and disperses light. The source can vary from sunlight to LED from laser to tube light. At first my installations were just static but over the last years I have also been inserting dynamics which are either preprogrammed or activated by the movement of the spectator. This has led to creating a series of installations which completely separates the viewer from reality into a cocoon where existing beacons of orientation are defied. When all we recognize is gone we need to re-adapt our orientation. As Maurice Merleau-Ponty states: "The world is what we see and nonetheless... we must learn to see it" (from The Visible and Invisible)
Download Artist's biography || Download Artist's CV
Artist's Statement
I work with light, space and the process of visual perception. Here I respond to existing spaces and environments and look at elements that are specific to the location. With minimal changes I relay focus and concentration redefining and analyzing the visual world. I try to capture a source that creates a heightened sense on how we see and how this affects us. The spectator plays an active role in discovering the work as it reveals its self. Sensing the space and how light influences our orientation is part of the process that brings the viewer to a new visual awareness. It is important to submit to my installations and take the time to process and experience it. At a first glance it is likely that nothing substantial can be seen. The eye needs time to adjust.

I often make installations on location which are temporary. Every space and environment brings new ideas and requires an approach specific to the site. Deciding on what materials to use is partially drawn from experience but remains intuitive. Materials used can be foil, Plexiglas, textile, pigment, thread, smoke, water. Basically anything that captures reflects and disperses light. The source can vary from sunlight to LED from laser to tube light. At first my installations were just static but over the last years I have also been inserting dynamics which are either preprogrammed or activated by the movement of the spectator. This has led to creating a series of installations which completely separates the viewer from reality into a cocoon where existing beacons of orientation are defied. When all we recognize is gone we need to re-adapt our orientation. As Maurice Merleau-Ponty states: "The world is what we see and nonetheless... we must learn to see it" (from The Visible and Invisible)
Download Artist's biography || Download Artist's CV
Artist's Statement
I work with light, space and the process of visual perception. Here I respond to existing spaces and environments and look at elements that are specific to the location. With minimal changes I relay focus and concentration redefining and analyzing the visual world. I try to capture a source that creates a heightened sense on how we see and how this affects us. The spectator plays an active role in discovering the work as it reveals its self. Sensing the space and how light influences our orientation is part of the process that brings the viewer to a new visual awareness. It is important to submit to my installations and take the time to process and experience it. At a first glance it is likely that nothing substantial can be seen. The eye needs time to adjust.

I often make installations on location which are temporary. Every space and environment brings new ideas and requires an approach specific to the site. Deciding on what materials to use is partially drawn from experience but remains intuitive. Materials used can be foil, Plexiglas, textile, pigment, thread, smoke, water. Basically anything that captures reflects and disperses light. The source can vary from sunlight to LED from laser to tube light. At first my installations were just static but over the last years I have also been inserting dynamics which are either preprogrammed or activated by the movement of the spectator. This has led to creating a series of installations which completely separates the viewer from reality into a cocoon where existing beacons of orientation are defied. When all we recognize is gone we need to re-adapt our orientation. As Maurice Merleau-Ponty states: "The world is what we see and nonetheless... we must learn to see it" (from The Visible and Invisible)
Download Artist's biography || Download Artist's CV
Artist's Statement
I work with light, space and the process of visual perception. Here I respond to existing spaces and environments and look at elements that are specific to the location. With minimal changes I relay focus and concentration redefining and analyzing the visual world. I try to capture a source that creates a heightened sense on how we see and how this affects us. The spectator plays an active role in discovering the work as it reveals its self. Sensing the space and how light influences our orientation is part of the process that brings the viewer to a new visual awareness. It is important to submit to my installations and take the time to process and experience it. At a first glance it is likely that nothing substantial can be seen. The eye needs time to adjust.

I often make installations on location which are temporary. Every space and environment brings new ideas and requires an approach specific to the site. Deciding on what materials to use is partially drawn from experience but remains intuitive. Materials used can be foil, Plexiglas, textile, pigment, thread, smoke, water. Basically anything that captures reflects and disperses light. The source can vary from sunlight to LED from laser to tube light. At first my installations were just static but over the last years I have also been inserting dynamics which are either preprogrammed or activated by the movement of the spectator. This has led to creating a series of installations which completely separates the viewer from reality into a cocoon where existing beacons of orientation are defied. When all we recognize is gone we need to re-adapt our orientation. As Maurice Merleau-Ponty states: "The world is what we see and nonetheless... we must learn to see it" (from The Visible and Invisible)
Download Artist's biography || Download Artist's CV