Not I

2011

moleanos limestone
400H x 300W x 80mmD
weight 18kg

Series: Subject-Object

Not I is carved in Portuguese limestone from a protected quarry at the antipodes to Aotearoa NZ. Like a spirit figure, the sculpture describes an absent presence, simultaneously and equally not One/First/I . A usually crisp aye/ai/I-sound becomes a barely audible whisper and, like the figure, occupies liminal space. The sculpture’s form suggests a primitive bust or torso – where serifs bracket a neck between head and shoulders, or a waist between chest and hips. With the addition of a light source, the void casts a shadow, strikingly present like an ephemeral being; shedding light on a transient existence. The simple beauty of this hesitant assertion is found also in close view. The ancient stone outline holds traces of tiny fossils and smooth internal curves, a cave-like space reconnecting ‘I/One’ to its primordial roots.