work / FORMS 1999
'Faber Cover - Selected Poems by T.S. Eliot'
'William Scott's Pan Form'
‘Bath Mat’
‘Nutella Spoon’
Hand cut sticky-backed vinyl on paper,
ed. 20, 1999
20cm x 14cm each.
Exhibited in Polyrythm at Tolarno Galleries - each edition pinned to the wall in clear ziplock bags.
Twenty years ago this month I made this series of hand cut vinyl forms in Sydney just before I moved to Melbourne in late 1999. I was without a studio for 6 weeks prior to the move, and decided to take up unofficial residency in the State Library of N.S.W., on the ground floor, at the far corner study desk. The desk was small, only 60cm x 60cm with privacy screens conveniently placed at the front and side…and being in the corner against the wall, I was rarely disturbed. It was the perfect space for this small hand cut project. Each morning at 9am I would arrive at the library and smuggle in my paper, ruler, cutting mat, sticky backed vinyl, letter stamp, pencil and scalpel. The day began, hidden from view, carefully hand cutting each form and placing it on the pre-prepared paper. I worked through till 1pm then packed it all away and left, catching the bus home, returning again early the next morning. Day after day for 6 weeks. There were others made that didn’t make the final series including a yellow form titled ‘Sponge’ and a blue form in the shape of a Viagra Tablet. The first in the series was ‘Faber Cover, Selected Poems - by T.S. Eliot’. It was the first book cover I’d ever appropriated and seemed appropriate, considering the setting, as the starting point for these collected forms.
