Into the woods (2011). Glass, paper, stop motion animation.

My most recent major work ‘Into the woods’ is a mixed media installation of hot cast glass, paper silhouettes and projected stop motion animation. With these materials I use the familiar narratives of folk and fairy tales to explore themes of individual transformation and metamorphosis, of ‘becoming’, and of change. It was inspired by life long interest in story telling and the ways in which the narrative of folktales touch the lives of almost everyone, sometimes with out us even noticing.

The work is based around 7 cast glass objects portraying aspects of the landscapes common to many folktales: the enchanted wood, distant mountains, caves and rivers. Into this landscape I have introduced familiar and unfamiliar animated characters who make journeys around, into and through the glass environment. They are the characters of myth and legend who are transformed by the journey itself as much as by the experiences each has.

I wanted to create a work that responds to the proposition of Professor Jack Zipes who says that the key purpose of folk and fairy tales is, “[they] seek to awaken our regard for the miraculous condition of life”[1]. I want to arouse people’s sense of wonder by creating a work that draws upon child hood memory and encourages every viewer to reflect on the transformations that sits at the centre of every human journey.

Folk and fairy tales for me, encourage us to believe that change and transformation are essential aspects of the human condition.