Moses statue with Passion Flower
2021
Oil, watercolor, ink, and water, photographic transfer on silk. Framed in aluminium.
13” × 10” / 34 × 26 cm
Erin Bird's Moses Statue with Passion Flower is a compelling exploration of memory, transformation, and the interstitial spaces between crisis and catharsis. Dominated by a billowing, dynamic form rendered in fluid greens, the composition evokes a sense of movement and emotional flux. At its core lies a vestigial yellow center—a remnant of a floral form—that alludes to the fleeting presence of a passion flower. Delicate water stains permeate the silk, adding layers of texture and depth, and serving as tangible imprints of time and experience.
The genesis of this work is rooted in a deeply personal narrative. Confronted with the harrowing task of securing her mother's release from involuntary psychiatric confinement in the United States, Bird navigated a labyrinth of familial tensions and institutional barriers. This tumultuous journey, suffused with feelings of helplessness and desperation, becomes the undercurrent that propels the visual language of the piece.
The fluid green forms mirror the overwhelming tide of emotions and the sense of being engulfed by circumstances beyond one's control. They suggest both the chaos of personal upheaval and the natural world's indifference to human struggle. The residual yellow floral form symbolizes a beacon amid the turmoil—a delicate yet persistent reminder of beauty and resilience. It references the sudden overgrowth of passion flowers that overtook Bird's garden wall upon her return to England, a phenomenon that encapsulated the duality of nature's beauty and its relentless progression irrespective of individual plight.
The water stains on the silk are not mere aesthetic choices but intentional marks that signify the permeation of experience into the fabric of being. They evoke notions of tears, rain, and the inexorable passage of time, blurring the boundaries between the physical and the emotional, the intentional and the accidental.
Interwoven into this personal and natural tableau is the ephemeral memory of a statue of Moses glimpsed through a car window in Washington Park. The figure of Moses, arms uplifted and staff poised to draw water from stone, becomes a potent symbol of faith and the yearning for miracles in the face of insurmountable odds. This biblical allusion enriches the work with a layer of universal significance, bridging the personal narrative with collective archetypes of struggle and deliverance.
Bird's adept manipulation of mixed media—oil, watercolor, ink, and photographic transfer on silk—facilitates a harmonious interplay between transparency and opacity, control and surrender. The choice of silk as a substrate introduces a luminous quality, allowing pigments to diffuse and merge organically, much like memories and emotions intertwine within the psyche.
Moses Statue with Passion Flower stands as a poignant meditation on the convergence of personal crisis and transcendent hope. It engages with themes of vulnerability, resilience, and the transformative potential of art to distill complex experiences into a resonant visual form. The work invites a contemplative dialogue on the ways in which moments of profound disruption can yield unexpected insights and foster connections between disparate elements of one's life and environment.
By synthesizing intimate experiences with broader symbolic references, Erin Bird transcends the purely autobiographical to create a work that resonates on multiple levels. Moses Statue with Passion Flower is not only a testament to her individual journey but also a universal reflection on the enduring human quest for meaning amidst chaos.
2021
Oil, watercolor, ink, and water, photographic transfer on silk. Framed in aluminium.
13” × 10” / 34 × 26 cm
Erin Bird's Moses Statue with Passion Flower is a compelling exploration of memory, transformation, and the interstitial spaces between crisis and catharsis. Dominated by a billowing, dynamic form rendered in fluid greens, the composition evokes a sense of movement and emotional flux. At its core lies a vestigial yellow center—a remnant of a floral form—that alludes to the fleeting presence of a passion flower. Delicate water stains permeate the silk, adding layers of texture and depth, and serving as tangible imprints of time and experience.
The genesis of this work is rooted in a deeply personal narrative. Confronted with the harrowing task of securing her mother's release from involuntary psychiatric confinement in the United States, Bird navigated a labyrinth of familial tensions and institutional barriers. This tumultuous journey, suffused with feelings of helplessness and desperation, becomes the undercurrent that propels the visual language of the piece.
The fluid green forms mirror the overwhelming tide of emotions and the sense of being engulfed by circumstances beyond one's control. They suggest both the chaos of personal upheaval and the natural world's indifference to human struggle. The residual yellow floral form symbolizes a beacon amid the turmoil—a delicate yet persistent reminder of beauty and resilience. It references the sudden overgrowth of passion flowers that overtook Bird's garden wall upon her return to England, a phenomenon that encapsulated the duality of nature's beauty and its relentless progression irrespective of individual plight.
The water stains on the silk are not mere aesthetic choices but intentional marks that signify the permeation of experience into the fabric of being. They evoke notions of tears, rain, and the inexorable passage of time, blurring the boundaries between the physical and the emotional, the intentional and the accidental.
Interwoven into this personal and natural tableau is the ephemeral memory of a statue of Moses glimpsed through a car window in Washington Park. The figure of Moses, arms uplifted and staff poised to draw water from stone, becomes a potent symbol of faith and the yearning for miracles in the face of insurmountable odds. This biblical allusion enriches the work with a layer of universal significance, bridging the personal narrative with collective archetypes of struggle and deliverance.
Bird's adept manipulation of mixed media—oil, watercolor, ink, and photographic transfer on silk—facilitates a harmonious interplay between transparency and opacity, control and surrender. The choice of silk as a substrate introduces a luminous quality, allowing pigments to diffuse and merge organically, much like memories and emotions intertwine within the psyche.
Moses Statue with Passion Flower stands as a poignant meditation on the convergence of personal crisis and transcendent hope. It engages with themes of vulnerability, resilience, and the transformative potential of art to distill complex experiences into a resonant visual form. The work invites a contemplative dialogue on the ways in which moments of profound disruption can yield unexpected insights and foster connections between disparate elements of one's life and environment.
By synthesizing intimate experiences with broader symbolic references, Erin Bird transcends the purely autobiographical to create a work that resonates on multiple levels. Moses Statue with Passion Flower is not only a testament to her individual journey but also a universal reflection on the enduring human quest for meaning amidst chaos.
2021
Oil, watercolor, ink, and water, photographic transfer on silk. Framed in aluminium.
13” × 10” / 34 × 26 cm
Erin Bird's Moses Statue with Passion Flower is a compelling exploration of memory, transformation, and the interstitial spaces between crisis and catharsis. Dominated by a billowing, dynamic form rendered in fluid greens, the composition evokes a sense of movement and emotional flux. At its core lies a vestigial yellow center—a remnant of a floral form—that alludes to the fleeting presence of a passion flower. Delicate water stains permeate the silk, adding layers of texture and depth, and serving as tangible imprints of time and experience.
The genesis of this work is rooted in a deeply personal narrative. Confronted with the harrowing task of securing her mother's release from involuntary psychiatric confinement in the United States, Bird navigated a labyrinth of familial tensions and institutional barriers. This tumultuous journey, suffused with feelings of helplessness and desperation, becomes the undercurrent that propels the visual language of the piece.
The fluid green forms mirror the overwhelming tide of emotions and the sense of being engulfed by circumstances beyond one's control. They suggest both the chaos of personal upheaval and the natural world's indifference to human struggle. The residual yellow floral form symbolizes a beacon amid the turmoil—a delicate yet persistent reminder of beauty and resilience. It references the sudden overgrowth of passion flowers that overtook Bird's garden wall upon her return to England, a phenomenon that encapsulated the duality of nature's beauty and its relentless progression irrespective of individual plight.
The water stains on the silk are not mere aesthetic choices but intentional marks that signify the permeation of experience into the fabric of being. They evoke notions of tears, rain, and the inexorable passage of time, blurring the boundaries between the physical and the emotional, the intentional and the accidental.
Interwoven into this personal and natural tableau is the ephemeral memory of a statue of Moses glimpsed through a car window in Washington Park. The figure of Moses, arms uplifted and staff poised to draw water from stone, becomes a potent symbol of faith and the yearning for miracles in the face of insurmountable odds. This biblical allusion enriches the work with a layer of universal significance, bridging the personal narrative with collective archetypes of struggle and deliverance.
Bird's adept manipulation of mixed media—oil, watercolor, ink, and photographic transfer on silk—facilitates a harmonious interplay between transparency and opacity, control and surrender. The choice of silk as a substrate introduces a luminous quality, allowing pigments to diffuse and merge organically, much like memories and emotions intertwine within the psyche.
Moses Statue with Passion Flower stands as a poignant meditation on the convergence of personal crisis and transcendent hope. It engages with themes of vulnerability, resilience, and the transformative potential of art to distill complex experiences into a resonant visual form. The work invites a contemplative dialogue on the ways in which moments of profound disruption can yield unexpected insights and foster connections between disparate elements of one's life and environment.
By synthesizing intimate experiences with broader symbolic references, Erin Bird transcends the purely autobiographical to create a work that resonates on multiple levels. Moses Statue with Passion Flower is not only a testament to her individual journey but also a universal reflection on the enduring human quest for meaning amidst chaos.
