SILK IS SOFT: LIFE IS HARD
Site-specific Installation, 2011
Sheila Goloborotko
Hand-cut aluminum, paper (covered with shellac and paint), and linoleum
(Created for exhibition with Muriel Guépin Gallery)
a bit about the silk worm moth
I have long been fascinated, not only by how silk is made, but by how we as human beings discovered the fact that such a small being (a moth—a worm!) can be the source of such a thing of beauty. As I see it, their habitat (literally, the silk worm’s nest, or cocoon) has been transformed into garments, which are, in effect, another form of habitat—albeit for the human body.
I like transformations. One’s home becomes another’s shirt. My parents had a knitting factory in Brazil, where I was born. I spent every afternoon there; it was like my playground. As a child I learned how to, quite literally, create patterns. I suppose that’s reflected here: the open-work is like a dress or clothing pattern, only this one is in the body of the moth—to whom we owe so much.
the process
I began by cutting out a huge moth shape on paper; I put this paper on aluminum flashing (of the sort commonly used for roofing) and then cut it out I like that the forms are sharp, yet delicate. They hold their shape but hang, loose, free, yet confined.
MURIEL GUEPIN GALLERY
www.murielguepingallery.com
47 Bergen Street
NY 11201