Description
De l’envers is a recycled paper sculpture with a pair of cast paper hands rising like handles out of both sides of a wide bowl-shaped form. The hands reaching up are cast from the artist’s hands; the fingers are bent, pointing downward as if ready to grasp something. Because of the undercuts, the hands were difficult to cast and had to be meticulously pieced together. The bowl was first carved in Styrofoam and then covered in gray paper pulp. Once dry, the surface was given a stone-like patina using oil sticks.
Statement
De l’envers was created during a period when I was reading about psychology and early women’s history. The piece reflects my interest in the historic roles and symbolic representations of women. For me, there is something ancient about this work, as if it comes from another era.
The nature of the hands in the sculpture is ambiguous. It is difficult to know if they are emerging from the bowl or being absorbed by it. Whether something is coming together or falling apart is a preoccupation in many of my works.
De l’envers was awarded the Abitibi-Price Paper award in the Biennale du dessin, de l’estampe et du papier, 1989.
Karen Trask & Don Goodes, 2024