Just as there is not only one way to view the world, there is not only one way to make art. I recently viewed some sculptures by Alexandre Canonico at the Royal Academy in London, and also a wall hanging by Robert Morris in Nice that made me think I would like to turn some of my sketchbook drawings into a three-dimensional form. I decided that I would test using black rubber tubes to represent these drawn lines. I visited Pentonville Rubber in London, and bought a variety of black synthetic rubber hoses, tubes, and a large sheet of rubber.
I combined these materials with my ideas around the interactions between humans and nature. Humans use the resources available in our natural surroundings to form them into many products to serve our needs. The rubber hoses are made through a process of injecting or extruding the molten synthetic rubber, and rubber sheets are manipulated by pressing, cutting and hanging. Using a rubber hose, I decided to “inject” it with 30 minute quick-drying cement then manipulating into a form.
When undertaking something this much fun, it’s important to share it with a friend, and my Brazilian classmate Andrea Rocha was up to this task. Andrea helped me with the cement filling procedure. Once filled, I struggled to turn this unwieldy serpent into the nest shape that I had envisioned. In the process of forming a new shape, I had to sacrifice my black wire maquette of the bird’s nest to secure the ends, and it rests at the top of the final piece.
Injection, 2019
Marion Flanagan
Rubber hose, wire, cement
Approx. 60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm