Wendy Pope

This work came from an unexpected, spontaneous organic growth, needing to rid of old paperwork, working through was a very negative experience, when looking at them I felt extreme frustration dredging up anger. 
Destroyed in a mechanical like process hand shredding letters, leases of places I hated living in releasing something in their distortion and violent destruction. It was important for me to obliterate the past working through this like a therapy evolving my emotions, This was a way to put the past away a ceremonious process of burning, needing the written words gone. 
In some cultures fire is a cleansing act, in ours it is an act of vandalism, a violent obliteration.
Filming burning the paper I watched as the flames devoured everything leaving tones of black, grey, and white, a booklet sat creating a concertina I saved in a clear box encapsulating it like memory in aspic.
The title of my work is in the specific sequence and process; Paper, Destruction, Fire, Death and Imprisonment.
From this one material, I made ink, incorporated it with clay, glue, and into sculpture, the meaning and emotion allowed me express myself fully in my work. It was important for me to follow these processes keeping focus stretching one material to maximum exhaustion reflecting restriction with lockdown situation static in an invisible aspic.        
Artists in my journey with my work include; Anslem Kiefer, Gutai artists, Jeram Patel, Mona Hartoum, Antonio Burri and Nnenna Okore.
This has been an invaluable course leading me to going from this foundation degree course to University pursuing a fine art degree, I will continue making my own work and express in many mediums as I do now.        

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