Maxine
Bristow's work references industrial textile production very heavily,
and is steeped in regional history as well as the relationship to
particular materials that we all develop from an early age.
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3 x 19: Intersecting a Seam (1999)
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These
pieces are intricately and precisely designed, but owing to the
nature of heavy fabric they are also irregular in individual,
variable ways. They resemble sleeping bags, or large sacks, and look
comfortable, evoking a tactile response without physical contact. The
material was laboriously prepared, with the material treated with a
mixture of Gesso, a PVA and chalk powder mixture, whcih seals the
material and adds to it's texture. The Gesso is then partially
removed by hand. The handmade approach to all of Bristow's work
creates small differences so that whilst the pieces often look the
same in repetition, upon closer inspection they are more separate.
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| 18 x 51 over 11.44 (2002) |
In
this piece the reptition is enhanced, magnified many times over in
several ways. The objects themselves are multiplied, again appearing
similar but owing to the hand-made techniques they are all
individual, with each button hole also having the same degree of
separation from the others near it. The same process is applied to
the material of the fabric as before, again creating an imperfect,
inconsistent quality to the fabric.
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| Light-switch ref 20318 (2004) |
With
this piece, the repetition is magnified even further, as seen in the
above image, stretching out past the line of sight. Equal distance
between the switches and their piping, following neatly along the
curvature of the wall, reinforces the theme of functionality within
her work more literally.
Bristow
experimented with a variety of different mixtures to create the
concrete blocks that form the basis of the "lightswitch"
design. Various materials involving concrete mixed with other powders
were tried, with various degrees of success. In this image you can
see Bristow trying the fabric component of the shape with different
blocks that she has produced, testing her response to each one. The
image clearly demonstrates the different qualities each block
provides in texture and colour tone.
In
this image you can see the finished result of the selection process.
The block again looks distinctly uniform in design, but the handmade
nature of both the concrete mixture and the piece of fabric applied
to it create individuality that is distinct. Specks in the concrete
make it unique, amongst the many that sit either side of it.
| This image demonstrates Bristow applying another part of the design, regular to each 'unit' of the piece. Holes will have been drilled into the wall at perfectly spaced intervals, providing clips for the handmade fabric pieces to attach and give the impression of securing the piping to the wall. Similar items appear regularly in virtually any building that a person might enter, but they are incidental, even insignificant to observation. Bristow has instead made the insigifnicant details of functional interior design something tactile and interesting, but without making them singular and obvious. |
