10 November 2010

Third Space II - a work in progress

In February 2010 I exhibited “Third Space”, a site specific installation making reference to my liminal position between cultures. It consisted of 22 panels ranging in lengths from 2 m to 6 m, in width between 20 cm and 70 cm. Bark cloth, cotton gauze, bonded interfacing, Polyester thread and soluble stabilizer were combined to form composite lace.
Takamoa Theological College, Mission House, Rarotonga
The newly restored Takamoa Mission House, the first stone house erected in the early 19th century on Rarotonga, the Cook Islands’ main island, was the venue. The exhibition finalized my thesis for a MA in Art & Design.
In June this year I was chosen as one of 135 finalists from 22 countries to participate in the International Lace Award competition at the Powerhouse Museum  in Sydney. My entry will be “Third Space II” which is based on my thesis exhibition. Installing the elements in such a totally different environment will be a wonderful challenge which I am looking forward to. But first I have to finish all the installation’s elements.
Materials and tools
Again, bark cloth (5 + 7), cotton gauze (2), bonded interfacing (6), Polyester thread (3), bark fibre (4) and soluble stabilizer will be my materials, scissors (1), a shark-tooth knife (8), a seam ripper and a sewing machine my tools. The shark-tooth knife helps to cut the tapa (bark cloth) in a very natural looking way. 
Hawaiian shark-tooth knife
Our good friend and traditional Hawaiian artisan Kana’e Keawe made this elegant and hugely useful tool and presented it as a gift to us in 1988.
Tongan bark cloth whole and deconstructed
I use Paper Mulberry bark cloth which yields the finest and whitest bark. Unfortunately, this tree species has been extinct on our island for many years. The common barks used on Atiu are Banyan and Breadfruit, both brown in colour, and Dye Fig which gives white bark. Tapa making is a lot of work and therefre mainly a group activity. Given my time frame, I found it easier to use the tapa from Tonga, of which I had some pieces left, and tapa from Samoa. 
Samoan bark cloth
The Samoan tapa was specially commissioned in 3 m lengths as just one layer and is of coarser fibre because of its length. The Tongan tapa consists of several layers of very finely beaten bast which are glued together with tapioca starch to form a more solid sheet. The holes that are found in regular intervals result from branches that grow from the stem. They are usually removed from the plant at an early stage to keep the holes small. For my purpose, the holes were a bonus, because they make the bark appear lacy. In the beginning I carefully separated the layers in their dry state, a hard job and often less successful than I had wished. 
Tongan tapa is composed of several fine layers of bark cloth
When I bleached a much yellowed piece, I discovered by accident, that in the bath the layers had separated. Thus I now soak the tapa in water to separate the layers and then lay them out carefully stretched to dry. Bark cloth has very poor tensile strength when wet and it is all too easy to rip it in its wet stage.

With the help of soluble stabilizer, lots of pins and sometimes water-soluble glue stick, I combine the different materials to form long panels of composite machine-sewn lace. I spend endless hours sewing before the stabilizer can then be dissolved in water. 
Washing out stabilizer
That is the most delicate job, as the very vulnerable wet tapa needs to be treated with utmost care. As soon as it is submerged in water, it becomes extremely soft and it can easily be damaged when washing out the stabilizer. At this stage it feels and looks a bit like a jellyfish.
The spiral is one of my favourite shapes
The panel is then rolled in a towel to squeeze out as much water as possible and, with the help of lots of pins I can now stretch it so it can dry and keep its shape. The spiral is one of my favourite shapes and often sneaks into my works like it did here.
My studio work space re-arranged
I had to rearrange my studio to provide for the extreme length of the panels (see tables at the back). As soon as it is dry, the tapa gains back its strength, though the fine layers that I use are still somewhat vulnerable.
Tapa lace panel and its cousin the tree
The finished panel is very light in weight. I had a hard time when I photographed this one. The wind kept blowing it about and it didn’t want to hang still. Only when I looked at the photos did I discover how beautifully the tree and the panel matched each other. The bark had found its cousin. Though nature often provides me with inspiration, not plants, but the flow of the fibres and the crossing of threads in the material trigger my ideas in this project.


3 comments:

  1. magnificent piece of lace...thanks for sharing.

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  2. BEAUTIFUL work! Am visiting here via Fabienne who mentioned you on f'book...so glad she did. Welcome to blogging - it's a fine, fine world out here with many kindred spirits flitting about. I look forward to watching your process.

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  3. Thank you, Deanna and Sweetpea, for your appreciative comments and for being this blog's first followers. It was very exciting to find your comments. I'm ready for the next step now :-)

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