Florence Trust

IRON AGE - The mosaic sculpture of Colette Brannigan

In my work, I aim to endow banal objects with a significance and an emotional dynamic of their own, creating internal tensions and dialogues that set up channels of communication with the audience. My work is a very personal reaction to the tedium and drudgery of the production line. I am interested in the limitations it imposes on people and use its products and packaging to express in visual terms the discords and ambiguities of everyday life.

In 2005 I made an important visit to Fishbourne Roman Palace. Much of this site has been developed into a housing estate and the original mosaic lies hidden in the gardens and under foundations of the new houses. Instead of resenting the presence of these modern day dwellings I came to realise the value of the lives that are contained within their walls and as a result began to mosaic my own personal emotions onto domestic utensils and builder's tools.

In the installations Aborted and Shifting Shadows a new rawness begins to appear in the work as I begin to explore the moral, psychological and emotional issues around abortion.

The merging of mosaic and these functional artefacts remind the audience of the anonymous human endeavour and sacrifice that is involved in their creation. The mosaic speaks of our deep need for beauty and for a sense of civilisation and history. Its rigidly organised patterns are almost cellular in nature, creating deep rhythms in the work that give dignity and a sense of belonging to these everyday things.

Colette Brannigan
February 2007