Power and Privacy/Blue Chip
Power and Privacy and Blue Chip are made from used security envelopes from various businesses, corporations and government agencies (in Blue Chip the envelopes are more specifically from investment statements). Each envelope has its trademark pattern protecting the privacy of the individual client. The envelopes, each with their own built-in pattern were then cut into another larger pattern based on a 19th century French floral design from the era of the French bourgeoisie. In both there is decoration upon decoration yet if one were to decipher the codes encrypted in the security envelopes it would be possible to piece together a narrative about the individuals that these envelopes were sent to and to reconstruct part of a possible history. Here it is the patterned interiors of the envelopes that hold the key to information within the larger decorative pattern providing the connective tissue of the narrative.
The patterned ovals possess a delicate and alluring beauty. There is an immediate feeling of comfort as they appear to be purely feminine decor and do not demand an immediate reading of content. There is a suggestion of a veiling of information. The works themselves are more ethereal than their dark, solid shadows perhaps alluding to the fact that in reality privacy is illusive and that the illusion of privacy (the shadow) is what truly exists.
