Tools for Life

Submitted byJeeraik009 onWed, 05/16/2012 - 07:04

 

Life in the Caribbean is complicated. Sometimes, that complexity comes from the choices we make, much more is determined by family, place and our relationship to history. Laura Facey's Radiant Combs exhibition provides tools for untangling our lives. Her combs are elemental forms drawn from nature that unravel our knots of privilege or poverty and provide a sense of clearing and possibility. It is not coincidence that the afro-pick forms Laura has created are like trees, rooted and erect or with fronds that fold like weeping willows such as Daughter of Comb 2010 shown here. These shapes come from the land around and her skill at whittling and honing whatever it provides, into forms that whisper rather than shout. Placed around her home's high-ceilinged gallery, her sculptures ache with their aged beauty, caressed surfaces and their ability to ease the soul. On the wall, oversize drawings of the surrounding landscape depict peaks and valleys with shafts of light and space. Like her combs, they show how the gaps in-between life's sometimes violent prongs are the true places of healing. Laura has always been in the business of making things beautiful but these combs have opened up channels that allow us to explore new pathways and her own inner passions.