Rope Study, 2015

Rope Study contrasts the measure of time as both natural and unnatural by repetitively unravelling and re-creating an unremarkable material. My hand motions almost mimic those of traditional techniques of spinning or knitting while I use a seam ripper to unravel machine-woven material by hand. In part, Rope Study reflects the alchemic aspect of artistic creation described in the Brothers Grimm’s fairytale, Rumpelstiltskin, as well as its variant, The Three Spinners. Much like mimicking spinning (in reverse through unravelling), both of these tales involve transforming an everyday material into something desirable and valuable: straw into gold, white nylon rope into art.