the making of

Imperfect Pattern L (Field of vision)
2009
2.2m X 4.4m X 8.8m
Hand-cut coreflute.

Late 2008 I was invited to produce work for a show at the Institute of Modern Art, Fortitude Valley QLD. The Imperfect pattern series that I have been working on since 2002 had reached
number 49, it seemed appropriated to expand number 50 into a scale worthy of this milestone. An alternative material was needed to achieve this scale, I had been thinking about a way to use coreflute plastic for some time. With the assistance of Akiko Yamasaki and the financial assistance of the IMA a monumental jigsaw of 5880 pieces, covering an area of 68m2 has been realised. The work is able to be assembled and disassembled again and again allowing for it to be relocated at a later date, its modular structure allows for the work to be reoriented to suit different architectural spaces. I hope that the work will travel to other public galleries over the coming years.




The coloured pieces were cut roughly to size using a guillotine. Later the angles were cut by hand, each piece scored, folded and sorted. there are 54 various pieces in four colours + 10 various large white pieces.



A regional residency at the IMA was available concurrent with the preparations for the exhibition, I was lucky enough to be successful with my application. The installation of the work took 6 days (I thought it might take 3), the residency made this protracted and exhausting event a little less problematic.



There is method in the madness.















Every different view of the work creates a new dynamic, new planes are revealed others are hidden. The transparency of the material mixes the colours creating new tones, the coloured planes reflect onto the white creating half tones, shadows complicate the pattern and confuse the eye.