Babel

2009

toughened glass, masonry blocks, ed.3
1840H x 400W x 400D

Series: Glazed I’s, Subject-Object

In contrasting modernist materials, Babel mixes the rough with the smooth in a multi-faceted 'I' form. In profile, a shaft of light splits the block towers to reveal the text and subtext under tension. Stripping the anchoring 'AM' from the rubric used by New Zealand painter Colin McCahon, the work sheds parochial constraints to engage in a global arena of text and art.  Based on the parable of the Tower of Babel - where ambition and humility collided and the languages of the world dispersed – the freestanding 'I' proposes a liminal space where a cacophony of voices could be stilled.