Description
A-Vide 1 is a handmade sheet of paper, with the French word “vide” (empty) embossed, white on white, in block letters. The letter “A” preceding “vide” is traced with strands of fiber optic thread that extend down the front of the paper. The form of this letter is only visible when a light illuminates the fibers creating tiny bright spots where they pass through the paper. Together the letters spell “Avide” (avid, eager, greedy).
A-Vide 2 was created at the same time as this work, using the same letters/words and handmade paper, but does not include fiber optics or light.
Statement
A-Vide 1 and A-Vide 2 reflect the artist’s fascination with language and its capacity to hold dual or opposing meanings through the simple act of removing letters. In particular, these works belong to a series of works exploring words associated with emptiness. There is a material expression of emptiness in her use of the empty embossed letters and the subtle use of light to write the “A”. A-Vide 1 is considered by the artist to be an experimental work in her self-imposed challenge to introduce light into her paper works using fiber optic threads.
Karen Trask and Don Goodes, 2024