Working in the middle of a shopping centre has thrown up a number of challenges, particularly the absence of natural light and instead operating under a flood of flattening florescent lights that completely obliterate all shadow. Noticing and photographing changing details and shadows is always an important part of my process. So I quietly sort out a more dimly lit corner in the back corner of our studio/empty-shop to record the delicate filaments and shadows of this particular work-in-progress.
 |
| Kath Fries, filaments, 2012, stick, laddered stocking and shadow. |
Throughout my practice focusing on everyday and found materials often leads to a prolonged engagement with their substance and limitations. Developing my artworks is about pushing materials as far as they can go, testing elasticity and flexibility, as well as how the they can be pulled apart and interconnected.
 |
| Kath Fries, filaments, 2012, stick, laddered stocking and shadow |
I continuously photograph my work-in-progress, especially as my materials are often fragile or ephemeral and don't withstand contorted positions for a prolonged time - adding to the important of capturing the moment. Cropped detail views are often more interesting than the overall whole, and sometimes shadows are more intriguing than the object itself.
 |
| Kath Fries, filaments, 2012, stick, laddered stocking and shadow |
To stop, look and notice a shadow is to acknowledge a unique moment in time, like the shadow on a sundial - a way of pausing to be present in the moment.
 |
| Kath Fries, filaments, 2012, stick, laddered stocking and shadow |
"Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides."
(Junichiro Tanizaki, 1933)
 |
| Kath Fries, filaments, 2012, stick, laddered stocking and shadow |
In ancient Egypt it was believed that a person could not exist without a shadow, nor a shadow without a person, therefore, Egyptians surmised that a shadow contained something of the person it represents. For this reason statues and artworks were sometimes referred to as shadows.
 |
| Kath Fries, filaments, 2012, stick, laddered stocking and shadow |
“Everything that is, casts a shadow”
(Neil Gaiman, 2001)
The Gosford Artists Residency is organised by Gosford Regional Gallery and the Imperial Arcade. Artists: Wendy Abel Campbell, Kath Fries, Kylie Rose McLean and Janet Meaney. Visitors are welcome 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday 18-29 June and our resulting work will be exhibited at Gosford Regional Gallery from 21 July to 16 September. www.gosfordregionalgallery.com
%2BWhite%2C%2BBRANCH%2B3d.jpg)
.jpg)
