My final piece is based on my project theme ‘traces’, but particularly inspired by my recent finding of the possessions of a dead woman in a box free to take. The piece is a triptych of three rocks I found outside various homes Pearl (the aforementioned woman) had lived in, which I found the addresses of through some of her letters. The triptych is hinged and attached to the wall, and there is a shelf underneath it with the tape from a cassette that belonged to Pearl, on which I wrote about the piece itself and the significance of the rocks. I used a motif on all the canvases, as well as the shelf, which is a slightly raised pattern I created using the print on one of Pearl’s passports. This references Pearl’s identity as shown in her possessions, and hints towards the idea of objects being the central theme of the piece. My intention was to let people rummage through and unfurl the tape to try and read what’s on it, in the same way that I unwove the story of Pearl’s life and identity. The piece is largely about object memory, and the idea that Pearl and I are connected by objects – her possessions and these stones – as these things have witnessed both of us and our respective lives. The combination of stones in the painting and tape underneath also references stone tape theory – the idea that objects and environments can absorb traumatic events and even replay them at some frequency. The triptych aspect also plays a part in commemorating Pearl, referencing more traditional religious paintings.
