Coded Message: Dark Secret
glass, ceramic, shells, golds, smalti, bone, fossils, pebbles, aluminum, laminate, pearls, coral and abalone applied without visible adhesive on to a hand-formed substrate
23″h x 18.5”w, 2014
In the traditional language of mosaic, tesserae are deeply embedded in visible mortar or ‘set in stone’. But in these works, the elements of mosaic are free to interact at the most basic level: tessera-to-tessera. Handmade, free form substrates eliminate the arbitrary edge imposed by a frame and establish an environment where the tesserae can exist without boundaries. It seems as though the pieces could reposition when one’s back is turned, changing the meaning at any moment.
Everyone has secrets, bits of information rarely shared. Coded Message: Dark Secret is holds the key to unspoken words and covert communications. Bits of glass and ceramic come together to form thoughts and break apart, losing meaning. Read between the lines.
Coded Message: Dark Secret was first shown in the Masters Invitational at Mosaic Arts International 2014.