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lumbar support

march 2018

cotton body pillow, lumbar support bandage, rafter

lumber support

university of brighton graduate show, june 2018

40m body pillow, plywood rafters, lumbar support bandages

Lumber Support explores the interplay between the body and its systems of support. Consisting of two hollow wooden beams, one fixed to the ceiling and one at ground level, the two are linked by a 40m long body, or pillow, winding its way around the top rafter, and making its way down to the floor. At a height, the body as pillow clings to the apparently solid beam for support, wrapping itself around in desperation. At this level, the beam bears the weight of the pillow body, allowing for the sag and flow of material to droop safely to the floor. In the journey to the floor, the roles of body and support object are reversed, with the beam becoming the body and the pillow returning to its functional role as support object. Never allowed to make contact with the floor, the beam is sheltered and protected, its illusion of solidity undermined by its protective layer of pillowing.

 

Materially the work explores the ways in which fabric can be manipulated to mimic the body, the ways in which it can emulate the sags and folds of the skin, the drooping heaviness and weight of the body. Support bandages are used to further constrict and give an illusory support to a limp and uncontained body. Illusions of solidity permeate the work- the beams, though hollow in part for structural reasons, also mimic the hollow, tubular structures of the pillow, alluding to the interplay between the interior and exterior body. The body is exposed and vulnerable, caught between life and death, clinging to these insubstantial support structures.

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