Lisa Neighbour | commentary

The Hulk in Knots

I am presently working on a series of sculptures which use interwoven wires to represent a pattern of energy, like a circuit board. These works combine the elements of traditional techniques into hybrid systems, using such materials as lamp cord, telephone wire and coloured industrial cable.

I use electrical wire and components as a drawing medium. Electricity, like the life force in living things, runs through all the wires. The process can be meditative, in the sense that time passes differently while working. My thoughts are recorded in the knots. Aside from blisters and electrical shocks, knotting wires is much like drawing, it allows the world to slow down while the mind speeds up.

I am responding to a world of random drawings, which catch my eye wherever I am. My environment is full of huge construction projects and cascades of tangled wire emerging from open holes in walls. Sometimes I'll take the loose wires and braid them, or tie them up in hair-do's. The buildings are continuously eviscerated and healed by the process of renovation. I'll pass the same place several times and add to the drawings, before they are completed by electricians or Bell Telephone technicians. I'll often continue these spontaneous collaborations in a more detailed form in my studio.

The ideas in the work relate to "fixing" the wires. They are always on the verge of becoming mixed up, of short-circuiting or getting snarled. The guts of the building which are usually hidden, come out and hang there. Once I gather up the wires, they can conduct electricity to the bulbs and remain stable. It's a process of assimilating dangerous elements.

To a certain extent The Hulk in Knots continues the theme of rage from the 2000 work Big Bang. I consider the Hulk to be a kind of alter-ego; he's out of control, genetically damaged and hunted by those who want to destroy him. His response to pain and fear is to smash everything in his path. His rage is uncontrollable and therefore not his fault. The catharsis of breaking things apart is a familiar experience for me. I wanted to deal with the pent-up sensation that precedes anger in a way that could be recognized on an intuitive level. The wires are conducting electricity throughout, but it can only be seen in the creatures illuminated eyes. The view in the mirror is of the Hulk about to pounce on the viewer from behind.

Lisa Neighbour

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