Lobster Mornay- Fresh 2010

Edition of 4 available  

Statement about the work

“A hundred or more years later, as European cities grew, painters took to portraying the lobster as a favoured subject in still life. Alongside skulls, hour-glasses and candles, symbols of the ephemeral, and pepper, citrus fruits and nutmeg, symbols of burgeoning global trade and power, the lobster, always fresh cooked and pink, took his place. It is not immediately clear, as with the other symbols, what the lobster represented. Even now the lobster is a rare, expensive item and access to fresh sea food, especially in the cities, must have ensured a high price three hundred years ago.” The Fishing and Culture of Lobster by Moray Mair

I see “Lobster Mornay” as both a sign of extravagance and kitsch. A strange and delicate beast drowned in an excessive sauce. The paper I made for the original piece was also a sauce, a mix of ingredients almost accidental in creation.

This work is digital reproduction of an original work in natural fibres – cellulose that is printed on a cellulose fibre medium. The original surface of the cotton and banana fibre now melds into the surface of the digital image print surface. The work is actually a sculptural installation artist’s book image using the structure of bookbinding and jewellery making techniques. Finally the circular cropped image plates up the image for the viewer.