Flying poppies
The mobiles hang in the air like sculptural signs. In the beginning, the stems were on the ground. They just had to be noted, collected and assembled into delicate shapes. But this poppy seems to be ambitious, it has the sense of achieving something higher.
The forms have a share in the outstanding beauty of nature. All together they weigh a hundredweight less than a single mobile by Alexander Calder. Their weight is only a few grams. They are simple and beautiful, though more beautiful than beautiful. They are distant relatives of Karl Blossfeldt's Urformen der Kunst. The natural material was artistically transformed by minimal interventions.
They are botanical sculptures.
Silently they are moved by a mere breeze. The individual stems seem to float freely and yet they are linked with invisible threads. They form a system that does not want to be disturbed. An open window is enough and they begin their poetic game. They write filigree structures in the air.
They are delicate constructions with almost no construction. The point of these mobiles is to find the right balance, to maintain the balance, to preserve the fragile balance and to avoid a crash. Their minimalism is of great vulnerability. Unaffectedly they bring their very own delicate colorfulness.
Poppy capsules contain anesthetic, which can stop pain and awaken dreams.
Jan Thorn-Prikker
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