Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Mourning News

Adam Farlie, Mourning Light

Everyday objects possess the most potent affective power. In their ability to withdraw their familiarity, to defamilarise themselves, ordinary objects constantly hold us to ransom. Through toying with our vested affections, they embody tremendous emotional capital. Adam Farlie's Mourning Light is lightshade as turncoat.
No longer the shedder of light, the familiar assistant with tasks, it instead casts blackness. Only the shade itself is illuminated, outwards. The interior of the lightshade is deathly black - not a flat disc, but a depth of darkness. One can place one's hand - or even one's head - into the void, and become increasingly in the dark. Our yearning for the return of the light's familiar helpfulness is met with nothing but an eternal void, a contrariness, a denial. We are left bereft.

Adam Farlie, Mourning Light

4 comments:

h. said...

like this "flat disc and depth of darkness" .
Ian Mcharg's remarks for Lawrence Halprin's design for Portland as 'spaces where people can get in'. Landscape should have this quality of certain depth. it should be more than sketches with perfect perspective---the space itself needs to have this magnetic performance, the vision is: as a water screen, you touch it and you enter it.

jacky bowring said...

thanks h. Happy Easter!

Adam said...

Jacky,

During my Masters, a term in which I created Mourning Light, I was avidly dipping into yours' and other cited sites from this blog! You can imagine my shock when I saw your post on the very same piece on which the premise of it's creation was found here!

My greatful thanks for being a source of inspiration!

Adam

jacky bowring said...

Hi Adam - that is verrrry uncanny! Great to hear the connection, marvellous.
Keep up the wonderful work!
cheers, Jacky