The World Is Not What It Was

We take for granted our memory, our recollections of details and events which have defined the chapters of our lives.

Our brain is the repository of the riches and vibrancy of the past. Memories are the precious jewels embedded in our crown, the essence of who we are. But our mind is vulnerable to disease, to forms of dementia such as Alzheimer’s. Parts of the brain atrophy, enlightenment extinguished. What was life itself drains away, leaving an absence.These sculptures are my response my mother’s descent into Alzheimer’s.

The eggs of Peter Carl Faberge epitomise preciousness, creativity, life’s stories and enlightenment. They embody master skills, achievement and learning. The eggs convey a sense of power and strength, the ability to fight and win life’s battles.

Faberge eggs always have the joy of a surprise hidden in the interior. I have exchanged this for the shock of loss in my counter pieces.

‘The world is no longer what it was’ is drawn from The Military Faberge Egg. The symbol power is transformed into the shape of our brain, supported by tanks and artillery shells, metaphors for the reserves we draw on. Gemstone set into the brain depict personal victories.

Faberge’s surprise was a painting of the Tsar at the battlefront of the Great War. Here the shock is a scene of utter devastation based on Paul Nash’s painting -The world is no longer what it was’ – a landscape devoid of life.