Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand

Recycled wire, steel mattress springs, fabric, twine, paper, wax, wool, thread, beads, shells

500 x 400 x 300 cm approx

2022

Photo by Paul Gonella

Martydom of the Ten Thousand concentrates on the illegal trafficking and slaughter of thousands of pangolins. Covid - a zoonotic disease - originated from wildlife wetmarkets - unethical human practices leading to our own demise as well as increasing animal extinctions at an alarming rate.

Multiple forms suspend, rising and pouring. Some appear skeletal, poised between completion and incompletion, in varying stages of translucency and decay. Stifled, vulnerable, the ghostly forms suggest pain, loss, death, but also resurrection.

The work has an environmental undertone. I used recycled materials that are hand-sewn, wrapped, tie-dyed with home-made plant inks, and waxed over woven structures. Stitch by stitch, the labour-intensive process adds to the message of care and repair. While raising awareness of pangolins, my work is a way to channel and overcome loss, make do and mend.

The title echoes Renaissance religious paintings of the same title. The work also refers to the Ghent altar piece - the bleeding lamb of god an object of religious devotion. I’ve pivoted the concept to raise awareness around multi-species justice.

The work was originally created for Together We Rise, an exhibition in Chichester Cathedral by Royal Society of Sculptors members, curated by visual arts advisor Jacquiline Creswell.

Instagram: @togetherwerise2022

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Photo by Paul Gonella

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Photo by Paul Gonella

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Photo by Paul Gonella

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Photo by Ann Purkiss

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Photo by Paul Gonella