artist of the month...

The forum for Architecture is inherently public as it is commission based and includes the regulatory scrutiny and teamwork required to realize it. My artwork is a contrast in that it is largely conceived and executed in a solitary manner and the act is driven by personal desire. I don’t mind the scrutiny of the former; I do welcome the relative freedom of the latter. Admittedly with larger work the end result is now migrating purposely to a more public setting.

Included in the 2010 Biennial, you have created an installation called “After the Party”. The size is 12’x12’. This scale alone is cutting edge for Bermuda and has really opened the eyes of a number of local artists including myself. Elaborate for This Week on how this piece came to be?

I made a Bermuda Stone cake over 20 years ago and exhibited it in an eclectic personal exhibition at the Bermuda Society of Arts. That show is effectively forgotten, however one collector says he still has the original cake. I reprised the idea a year ago as there were significant Birthdays in the family including, 50th, 21st and 18th Birthdays. So I made a few cakes. Bermuda also had a 400th Birthday that year so that led to the idea of acknowledging that occasion with a major numerical celebration. Originally, I was going to do 400 cakes but thankfully was talked out of it. Even at 100 cakes and 400 candles it needed this size to accommodate them. The installation is a custom designed furniture to best suit the Bermuda National Gallery space and to enable the engineering of the presentation. It can be remounted elsewhere after the exhibition in other configurations. ‘After the Party’ is a celebration of that magical instant when candles are blown out and the wish you made will be granted.