Caged Response
Caged Response is a collection of birdcages configured to explore dysfunctional elements of relationships. Each cage holds a tableau to reflect the resulting private psychological dialogues which follow experiences of dysfunctionality. Birdcages stand as metaphor to illustrate our sense of isolation, confinement and restriction which can be the condition of these unhappy and limiting relationships. Often, we trap ourselves by not being brave enough to change our circumstances or we can be held in an emotional detention by others, much like a caged bird.
By referencing domestic interiors along with objects used to entertain and amuse a caged bird - such as perches, mirrors and swings, - the feelings of discomfort and entrapment are enhanced. The interior cage spaces rely on a surrealist aesthetic where mismatched scales and miniaturisation imply disassociated and dysfunctional worlds. There are also references to resolution and perhaps escape through the addition of keys and ladders to move beyond present circumstances.
I have collected discarded birdcages and fashioned individual steel stands to reflect either the cage design itself or the cage’s contents. In each instance unifying these by painting them black. The colour palate selected for the work is restricted to shades of black and white, chosen as a metaphor for the lack of middle ground habitually felt as these relationships play out.
This gallery installation is versatile; comprising small groupings of cages where the viewer can walk amongst them. The cages are presented at eye-level permitting easy viewing of the interiors and to inforce the idea that we are looking into psychological spaces rather than actual spaces. As a viewer we may catch the form of a cage in our peripheral vision as we focus on the one in front of us. As in life the peripheral observers to stifling oppressive relationships can be obliquely aware of the internal situation but rarely intervene.
Caged Response invites the viewer to contemplate their own emotions and experiences with regard to their personal relationships.
