50/50 ZIGZAG 2010

collage, acrylic on paper, 

(total size, 40 units, 89” x 222.5”), 2010 

T This work found its impetus in the suprematist drawings of Kazimir Malevich. In many of those works, the mark making occupies 50 percent of the surface area and the other 50 percent is unmarked. ZIGZAG is the result of considering other ways in which one might deal with 50/50 as a concept. Each of the 40 squares in the work was first painted with acrylic. The ground colour is a shifting wash of brown with hot and cool spots across the 40 squares - achieved by working red, yellow and blue wet into wet from one square to the next.  Separate pieces of the same paper were painted with a mix of high value pastels. These pieces of paper were first put through a paper shredder then cut into short pieces. Then the grounds were divided in half diagonally and the little pieces of paper were glued in place with acrylic gel. The work can ‘zigzag’ in a variety of different ways simply by virtue of the arrangement of the squares on a wall. It has been made so that it can respond to any environment in which it is placed. It has also been made to travel. It packs small and unpacks large. 

Kathryn Dain

This work served as a plan for ART GAMES (2012).