Deborah Wargon
Melbourne, Australia / Berlin, Germany
Deborah Wargon
Hanging Sculptures and Woven Mask of Migration
2020
Having shed their leaves over the early months of autumn, a row of Gleditsia planted next to the railway tracks near my mothers house are leaving a mess of shiny long auburn dark brown curly seedpods on the footpaths and roadside after winds and rain.I love them.They’re twisted und twirled in and around themselves, each one different from the other and when shaken they sound like the gentle tapping of rain on an umbrella.Originally from North America, Gleditsia were introduced to Australia as an ornamental plant in the mid 1800s and later the seedpods were valued as a source of stock fodder. In the Australian environment though, Gleditsia is considered a pest, an aggressive invasive weed causing widespread damage.In Chinese traditional medicine, Gleditsia sinensis is considered one of the alleged ‘50 fundamental herbs’.
I started collecting the seedpods a couple of months ago, tying them together with sewing thread in combinations of twos, threes and fours and hung from wooden sticks from the ceiling. They create beautiful shadows on the walls and ceiling.
Reptilian shadows. Insectile shapes.
They needed a new home and from this thought, the 2 sculptures were born.
As the hanging sculptures developed, I decided to weave the seedpods to create a flat object as opposed to an hanging object. Through this new technique a mask was made.
Working with these seedpods which are both pest and medicinal, at a time where pest and virus, migration and isolation, vaccine and medicine have become part of our daily lives, it seemed magically opportune to receive the invitation from Adam Nankervis for the London Biennale 2020.
My mother dislikes the seedpods immensely. She says they stink.
For now they are hanging in the garage where they were made.
In isolation.
Wrapped in blue plastic.
Deborah Wargon.
Melbourne. 2020.
