Q. Let’s talk a bit more
about that decision to shift away
from organic materials
A. Plenty of
my peers claimed new materials for art. Time. Neon. Fat.
A. But produced in a factory built by
man. And man is a product of nature.
A. Because oil is an essential liquid –
just as water is a leaf’s essence. And let’s not forget: oil itself is taken
from the earth.
A. Like the perfect lover (laughs). I can make exactly
what I want.
A. It’s true. Nature is more capable of
surprises.
A. You have this scarlet column amidst
the elms, some twenty storeys high. And
it stays scarlet, even as the leaves drop and return.
A. There is a seam. The mould remains. It
is not the acorn’s glossy perfection.
A. Is that ‘dichotomy’ fair? Nature has
polymers too, like amber and shellac.
A. As it happens, my next project is in
wood.