Blog 6 Abandoned Nests and Homes

  

Blog 6 Abandoned Nests and Homes

Following on from Blog 5  consideration is given to the absence of soft furnishings and furniture in both the nest and the home. 

Holding an abandoned nest in one's hand there is an all pervading sense of emptiness. Similarly an abandoned and empty house feels hollow. Emotions are evoked perhaps sadness at a once life-filled space now quiet, it's function no longer of use.

Are there parallels with the human body once it's reproductive functions are passed does it become a vessel to be abandoned?

From the images above the structural materials are integral to the strength and shape of the homes. Without the mud, twigs, concrete and steel,  without the boundaries they create, the soft interiors fall apart. 

Textile artist  Judy Tadman creates structures with interconnecting spaces.

Judy Tadman 

Rope sculpture inspired by standing stones.

Rug wool was used in the construction in an attempt to bring about a softer feel, the way that ancient stones have become smooth over many years of withstanding the changing weather.

The figures are constructed with 3ply sisal, paper yarn and spun cotton using a crochet technique. 

(Photos Judy Tadman 2011)

Wrapping holes with braid I am fascinated by the spaces that lead into Tadman's sculptures above. What is inside them where do they go?

Here I am wrapping the holes in braid. I have tried, and failed, to loop the braid.  Perhaps it needs to be stitched to wire, then bent into shape.

I have crocheted a wool form. It is very soft. The wool is probably too thin for the size of crochet hook I used. 

Trying to create a rope sculpture to reflect the interconnecting spaces of the woven nest and the empty rooms of a house. I crocheted textured wool around a core.

The materials used in this construction hold together to create a free standing shape.

We cannot see inside the nest or the houses of Saltaire with their net curtain adorned windows. Thinking about the theme of: "Habitat - Inside Out" would other materials convey this theme better?

Can the soft furnishings adorn the exterior of the construction materials?

Magdalena Abakanowicz

Image : Joe Humphrys

From 17th November 2022 to the 21st May 2023 the Tate Modern has an exhibition of Abakanowicz's work - 'Every Tangle of Thread and Rope" .  

On display are radical sculptures of woven fibre, known as Abakans.  I was aware of the work of this Polish artist but, wasn't quite ready for the scale of these immense hanging, moving sculptures. It was like walking through a forest. I could believe they were living organisms they had such presence. 

Wow! They really evoked all sorts of emotions and  made a lasting impression upon me. An inspiration.

She has placed sculptures in all sorts of contexts. I am particularly interested in those that have a close relationship with nature. Such as: 

• The buildings she designed for the enlargement of the Grande Axe of Paris in 1991. Her buildings were engulfed in green vegetation to create vertical gardens.
• The concrete sculptures, (1997-8), she placed within the context of a forest in the Villinius Europos Parkas in Lithuania. Known as, 'Space of Unknown Growth'. The sculptures were left and nature has began to engulf them . Moss and lichen are growing on their surfaces.

In order to meet the brief for the Saltaire Art Trail I would like to make a contemporary textile sculpture depicting human habitat which will take inspiration from the nesting blackbird and the hidden interiors of the houses of Saltaire.