Mantle

Sculpture, 2008

Plywood, steel, braided cord, emulsion paint

Mantle repeats elements of my earlier Passage and Monochrome Passage. However, here the internal and external elements of the work are brought into a more direct relationship. The term mantle refers not only to a cloak, but to the enveloping action of a bird-of-prey as it shields its catch by using its wings. This is a sculpture that likewise envelops its beholder, as she peers into the two narrow internal corridors.

The beholder becomes an integral part of the piece, cloaked by its enclosing structure. And the work also works acoustically, to dampen the sounds of the gallery, the open ends transforming the device into a curious (and even ungainly) acoustical instrument.