A Tender Presence

This work has two surfaces, one on paper the other of silk organza.

The model for my work was a mannequin which I found discarded in an inorganic rubbish collection on our street. For a long time I had it sitting on a shelf in my studio waiting for my inspiration to make use of it in my work. It had a quiet presence. Its small, delicate form which once had been used to fit clothes for a child, reminded me of dressing my own children but also being dressed by my own mother. Using the organza was a way to gently dress the little form again. Time has passed. The child has grown up and the mannequin is of no use. To me it has come to represent an absence.