Thursday 28 June 2012

The Fattylympics Torches

Behold! Fattylympics Torches!

They come courtesy of the accomplished, talented, generous, sublime artist Catharyne Ward. They could not be any more beautiful or have more resonance. Here's what she says:

"I have in essence a pair of hand-held standards with the bases made from caste glass: a woman's hand holding a vessel or torch, painted inside with enamels. The pierced brass erect baton, sitting in its cushion of 'cream' was made from a material sourced to replicate the Olympic torch. The injected foam taking on its own rampant life to squeeze and project its way through the multitude of holes.

The larger, standard-bearing piece, is made from brass plates. These I use a lot in my work, mostly with Eric Wright (he got this one soldered). Using this material over the pierced brass represented something that had a history: this was from some old boot-fair or other; it had probably hung in a pub's public bar previously; it had seen some acts of lunacy; and it's got people depicted eating, drinking and misbehaving. So it's about community, it's about what we've lost in the East End. It's got a big ol' head of foam thats like from a massive keg of beer or a huge plume of smoke - your choice! It's handle is a cast metal piece in a Roman Empire style, that came off my mighty two-bar electric fire which I worshipped religiously 20 years back. It was evidently waiting this long for its perfect entrance into public life."


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