Bonnie L Mitchell: Entrapment
Artist(s):
Title:
- Entrapment
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 2004
Medium:
- Inkjet on cloth with metal cages
Size:
- feet x 4.5 feet x 2 inches (6 pieces
Category:
Artist Statement:
This series of six images represents the struggle to balance the inner desire to live in harmony with nature alongside a life that denies and defies it. The lives we lead often satisfy the intellectual and social quest for interaction and knowledge but leave the inner self unsatisfied or in conflict with the core values of our existence. Internally, we se ek balance, yet we are often unaware of how to achieve it. Externally, we pursue a life that is out of balance and contradicts our inner goals. Time and commitment are our worst enemies. We are typically unable to recognize or respond to the internal struggle, so we continue to weave our lives around the constraints of time. It is only when our commitment to our inner goals and the pressures of our existing life stage a war with each other that we pause long enough to look at our life as a whole. It is then that we realize that somehow along the way, we lost sight of our relationship with nature, and we have no idea how to re-establish it. The wire cages represent the constraints of time and the boundaries we impose upon ourselves. The images of feet ground us in the present, and the hands reach out for more. Within the images, the artist’s extremities and organic textures were merged with threedimensional renders of natural growth patterns to depict the struggle to rectify a life out of balance.
Technical Information:
The individual images within the cages were created using Alias Maya collaged with manipulated digital photos. The 3D geometry used in the images was developed using an algorithmic method of geometry repetition and transformation based on natural growth patterns. Extreme close-ups of nature were combined with images of the artist’s hands and feet using compositing in Adobe Photoshop. The images were printed on polyester cloth using a large format Mimaki JV4-160 Color inkjet plotter. To enhance the focus on the concept of entrapment, wire baking baskets were used to enclose and frame the pieces.
