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G630A The Eden Iris: The Rape Of Eden By Monkeys
Oil on panel in gilded cabinet
Jun to Dec 2013, Size 500x500 mm

About this painting

This was Mark Sheeky's major artwork of 2013. A mix of art and engineering, and an evolutionary step forward from the Richard Dadd Cabinet. The circular cabinet features seven wooden leaves that peel back like an iris diaphragm to reveal an oil painting.

An inspiration was Hieronymous Bosche's 'Garden of Earthly Delights'; also an artwork housed in a great cabinet. In that case a perfect square. The work here depicts a garden of Eden with a similar theme of warning.

Technical details

The iris cabinet was a major technical challenge. Everything was cut and made using hand tools, for several reasons. Mark also wanted to design an iris diaphragm that had the minimum of external support (most have a huge surround), and one that sealed tightly and didn't have overlapping doors (most irises have a hole in the centre and have overlapping doors).

The cabinet is mostly constructed from medium density fibreboard sheets, with limewood (basswood) on the surface which are carved and gilded, using rose gold for the planet Earth in the centre. The black bezel part demanded the most accuracy. The curving slots were hand-cut using a jigsaw and needed to be accurate to at least 1mm. The object as a whole weighs about 15kg.

The Eden Iris: The Rape Of Eden By Monkeys (Original)
Please enquire for price inc. installation.