Collisions: Mark McDean/Julie Clarke

Mark McDean - June 2011

This is Mark McDean's response to my artwork referred to in previous post (click here). It is the next in this collaborative project between us that operates under the working title: Collisions. Six identical lace portions in the shape of a flower have been stitched together with thick black cotton. Black and white collide in an interruption, a scar, a blemish perhaps that mirrors the scar on Mark's skull endured through past surgery. Here, small flowers, little fragments of life as pattern, repeat, but are brought together in ways that suggest the familial - genetic resemblance and shared meanings. I can't help but recall the little paper doilies that my grandmother would place under a cake in the middle of the table at special family occasions or the crocheted mats used as place mats and draped over lounge-room chairs to keep them clean. This small piece is not only an attempt to address the limen (threshold) or to draw binaries together, but it speaks to decoration, ornamentation and facade. My response to the piece is forthcoming.