G868A The Love Reliquary II
Cabinet of wood, plaster, gold, with oil paintings
Feb 2014 to Feb 2017, 320x520x58 mm
G868A The Love Reliquary II
Cabinet of wood, plaster, gold, with oil paintings Feb 2014 to Feb 2017, 320x520x58 mm |
About this painting
The Love Reliquary was Mark's first cabinet work, completed in early 2012. After some years, and the subsequent improvement in skill and experience, a second Love Reliquary was build. The new cabinet housed the oil paintings from the first work, and was begun at the start of 2014. It took three years of intermittent work to complete.
The cabinet is fundamentally wood, decorated with plaster and clay, painted and gilded with 23.5kt gold. The brass hinges are cut and etched, and there is an attention to detail on every aspect of the reliquary. Concealed magnets hold the paintings in place. In the central panel, the lovers entwine, like statues in a garden. Nature surrounds the couple, and they show signs of age, moss, the passing of time. The gemstones are zirconium and ruby on silver. Yet, the scene is muted, the bird upside down, the embraces imperfect in an imperfect love. Thus the cabinet is a memory, a memory of something that was perfect once but is no more. |