Lacuna

Raewyn Turner & Brian Harris - 2022

Lacuna  is fragranced beeswax embedded with a functioning circuit board.  The work is predetermined for a future scenario in which indoor temperatures will exceed 40 degrees Celsius which will melt the wax and activate a soundtrack of a crying baby wailing at its entry into a world too hot to support life.

( one hour ) Thanks to Frankie Una Natoli Rayner

29cm x 29cm x 13cm headpiece, ,temperature sensor, sound transducer, circuit board, wall mount, baby nursery fragrance, beeswax, brass.

In Christian iconography the symbolic halo, the nimbus, is a radiant circle or disk representing spiritual/sanctity/divine character through the symbolism of light. From the 15th century, however, the nimbus created problems in representation. At first it was treated by some Florentine artists as a solid object seen in perspective, a disk fixed to the back of a saint’s head. In Flemish painting of the 15th century, it began to be represented as rays of light which was standard in the Baroque period and in most subsequent religious works.

Accelerated global warming is accompanied by the awkward relationship between religious beliefs and technology. Although science and religion contradict each other at times, religion can also fuel cultural demands that require technological advancement. The colonisation of other territories and religion-induced exploration prompted the development of better navigation devices, improved transportation, and more deadly weapons.

The wax references the ancient and recorded Egyptian practice of perching a solidified fragrant cone on the top of the head. Archaeologists have surmised that the unguent would gradually melt onto the hair and body covering the wearer with a film of fragrance. The cone headpiece seems to have had a particular association with childbirth, fertility and healing. 

Exhibited : 2022 Lacuna electronic installation Richard Nelson Small Sculpture Award finalist, Wellington, NZ