Masks

Waxy leaves of ‘Washingtonia filifera, Washingtonia. robusta‘– these palms are bare in early spring.

I pick the fronds up in public gardens, where they are abundant.

This magnificent material has the natural look of leather, slightly shiny, rot-proof. Light and strong, easy to drill…

Its tawny, glowing colour and its bearded fibres are very evocative.

I limit my interventions keeping them to a minimum, perhaps to underline a line, a raised area… For example, I limited myself to just underlining the features as they are, so that they spoke for themselves.

They spontaneously remind me of African masks that line up as if for a memorial family photo. Just bark but so present…