This 3D series was created in response to lost traditions. I created a still life, using objects I associated with still and times gone by, the objects were stages in a box handcrafted by my grandfather. The rosary beads, a miraculous medal, and the candle are symbolic of Ireland's strong catholic past. The gold button was an illusion of grandeur. A spool of thread and safety pin symbolises the making and mending era, skills that many have lost in recent generations. A handwritten recipe passed down from my grandmother, a polaroid of my mother as a child, stood on an old-fashioned lawnmower. Stamps which are now only used for official communications, in the era of instant communication, cannot comprehend the anxiousness and excitement that letters brought, the only form of communication for many, taking weeks to arrive at their destination. These items may seem insignificant but collectively represent something precious; they are a view of our past.
I continued to manipulate these objects casting them in media I had at home, creating collective casts in plaster and individual casts of the things. The plaster captures an accurate impression of the objects, yet altering them, imparting an ephemeral quality, the ghostly white giving a sense of time gone by.
The rosary beads and miraculous medal were cast using the wax of a candle. I chose to cast these religious objects in candle wax as candles symbolise the catholic church. Candles many represent the light in the darkness of life, the most profound symbol of well-wishing when done for another. Once cast, both the beads and medal appeared eroded, the imagery unclear yet recognisable, representing the catholic church in Ireland today. The church's reach and power are limited and in decline, yet always part of our past and our traditions.
