SOLO EXHIBITION: SCULPTURE DIALOGUES #1-10
These are the numerically correlated dialogues which may be used to add additional insight to the works in my exhibition. They are not intended to direct, rather to enrich should you wish to know more ... enjoy! JDW
1. For the Lost Years: Ten candles for a series of tens - a patron, a father and myself each making the passage of a decade within the passing of a single year. This then, the celebration of the sacred and priceless nature of time and an acceptance of the journey's deep interweaving of beauty and sadness.
2. Lao Tzu: Many years ago I was handed a piece of lovely Philippine mahogany. After procuring several chisels, I set to work. The Tao Te Ching was close at hand and its words reverberated with me. Chip by chip, my first panel relief carving was made manifest - thus revealing through its grainy voice, my own future way.
3. Conceptual Investment: The creative event - A breathing into being of the fertile inspired mind.
4. Milk Cow: This is the first sculpture which I completed in Japan, the first sculpture of a new life reflecting upon both the corporate world that I exited as well as the uniquely foreign culture that I had entered. It is a visual reflection upon Utilitarianism and the ramifications of its implementation on the individual in a modern society.
This work then is primarily about acceptance of place. Further it seeks to act as a reminder both to celebrate the tiny islands of self which life affords and to honor the precious limited-resource that each of us is as an individual. The consumers will always be there - ready to take and trip-up, to distract and dissuade. But to be is all - so much more than to be part. To accept the need of acceptance is not to give in - rather it is to arm oneself against the slippery slope of seeking the acceptance of others as guidance.
5. Delve - A Deep Sea Diver's Icon: Bound by pressure and depth, a solitary super-individual toils beneath the North Atlantic. This work is dedicated to the sacred nature of the internal self and those who do not fear the keeping of their own company.
As a child, I dreamed of finding my way aboard the Calypso, to wander the world with Jacques Cousteau. It seemed a fantastic life, deeply linked to the pursuit of knowledge and adventure.
As an adult I have come to appreciate the incredible challenges and perils of the oceanic -both above and below its heaving surface. It is a realm of risk, which is itself deeply at risk - a sacred realm of mystery and reward. This then is a tip of my hat to those sturdy folk who call the watery world their home. May they learn, preserve and find receptive ears for the telling of their fantastic tales.
6. Long Life Noodles - Year of the Dragon: The year that I left the U.S. and moved to Japan was the Year of the Dragon. It was the year of my selling off of a home and studio and rebuilding in a foreign land - a year of laughter and fears, in short, a year of polarity. To exit one world and enter another encompasses a desire both to nurture and to consume - to cradle one's resources and the need to devour them in order to facilitate the necessities of change.
This sculpture is then to me a reflection upon the tumbling power of adventure and the need for sustenance and humor in order to withstand its challenges. It is an image of the self-divided, seeking to navigate and accept the topography of the journey.
7. The Spider and the Snail: How very often we judge people or situations based upon the appearance of the players involved - Ah, the "poor" snail, and that "terrible" spider! And yet ... perhaps there is another side to this story ...
8. A Light in the Darkness: One day in southern Japan, I ate a particular soup, the name of which, I could not read on the menu. My waiter did not speak English and my Japanese was not sufficient for the translation. Being rather an adventurous eater, I was not overly concerned - however, having finished the bowl a different server arrived beside my table and proudly announced "Lantern Fish!"
This then is an exploration of the need for wariness and fairness of spirit in asking for guidance in dark places. Each of us is so vulnerable when the way ahead is difficult to see and hope seems fleeting. And yet, one does not know in what visage assistance may arrive. Oh, to have the wisdom to be able to ascertain genuine intentions ...
9. Notations in Fugue Collaboration: A sculpture reflecting upon the place of every individual in the greater final score of existence. This is an image of hope - hope that we can learn both individually and socially from the unique tonal value of each life lived, for both good and/or ill.
10. The Swan and the Alligator - A Symbiosis of Self: ....the swan that you present to society, the alligator that you know that you truly are…
The alligator then, the most honest self - submerged and protected by the most necessary and socially expected guardian swan.
The swan and the alligator symbiotically joint victims of the ever-present yet strategically distanced greater predator.
The true predator, a casual and careless marauder, who with easy unconcern by degrees degrades existence - diminishing sustenance through the auspices of the lowly, helpless and crucified worm.
Layers & polarities... A self portrait of the individual in society as well as one of social functionality at large.
