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Whatever your religious beliefs, the Bible is an amazing story
and since narrative has always been
such an important factor in my work,
I attempted to narrate somebody
else's texts rather than my own. It was
also interesting making a piece of work
when there have been so many
previous depictions of the same story and the resulting sculpture
uses the same rules as Leonardo Da Vinci's 15th century painting. |
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I chose this window ledge in the tube
station because of its height (following
Da Vinci who painted
above a door way) and because of the
imposing cross-shape in the framework of
the window. It was extremely dark and the
piece was lit from below which seemed
to add to the expressive nature of the
work. |
|  The statement which accompanied the sculpture is shown below: |
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'The Arabs were the first people in recorded history to use toothbrushes [though it is thought they were first used over 5000 years ago]. Religious significance was attached to the ritual, and prayers were said while brushing. Fifteen minutes of brushing equals about 70 prayers. It has been theorized that the expression "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" evolved from this period.' ¹ The story of the Last Supper was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and finished in 1498 on the end wall of a monastery in Milan. 'Leonardo Da Vinci was a keen student of Physiognomy, the science which seeks to establish a persons character from his or her features and facial expression. He observed that every emotion has its corresponding reaction or gesture, which differs with the age and character of the person concerned.' ² I am a keen student of Toothbrushology, the science which seeks to establish a persons character from his or her toothbrush. I have observed that it is possible to establish basic characteristics by analysing someone's toothbrush.
1. Text taken from 'The History of the toothbrush' @ www.remedent.com 2. Text taken from 'Leonardo Da Vinci' Written by Francesca Romei Pub. by Simon and Schuster 1994
September 2000 |