PRIVATE VIEW
18 SEPT, 6.30PM to 8.30PM
EXHIBITION
19–22 SEPT, 10.00AM to 6.00PM
Artist Emma Witter is breathing life back into bones in solo show at Sarabande Foundation
Featuring sculpture and special objects, derived mostly from bone, alongside photographic prints and a site- specific installation, the works will pay gentle tribute to the symbolic and emotionally loaded material.The series focuses on the flower motif, from which Witter forms beautifully intricate studies constructed from tiny chicken feet bones.
For the past three years Witter has explored the use of bone in varying forms, her meticulous process along with the stark bleached whiteness of the material results in objects that are hauntingly beautiful and surprisingly gentle
The artist‘s previous residency at Mark Hix’sTramshed in Shoreditch succeeded in raising consciousness of waste excess in the food industry. Here, she had a bountiful supply of bones from the kitchen which she was able to clean and prepare on site, before transforming the disused material into permanent objects of beauty.Witter’s obsessive practice puts emphasis on process and materials as she glorifies the functionality of the recycled matter.
This new series of works will introduce copper elements into the bone for the first time, by doing so the artist hopes to draw parallels between the strength and high mineral value in both materials. By using copper in small support structures, stems, and delicate signatures,Witter will also be lining the interior of bone vessels with copper plating, where once was the mineral rich bone marrow, where blood cells were produced, a new sire for repair and regeneration.
Emma Witter says:
“I am intrinsically drawn to the inherent strength of bones, their lightness and their fragility.Through the ritual of sourcing, cleaning and categorizing, the bones inform me and speak to me of sculpture and reinvention - a modern day momento-mori that conveys beauty and spirituality rather than something morbid and associated with death.”
