Somewhere Between Zero, 1994

Having produced the wooden figures 1 – 9 in a previous work, ‘Number 5 surrounded by his Associates’, representing the figure ’0′ in wood seemed like the next logical step; there was still enough sheet mahogany to do it.

Having previously been reasonably technophobe, I had only just started using an Apple Mac computer and consequently started to appreciate the power of the binary number system. The inherent simplicity and fecundity of this system impressed me as being a clear parallel to the roles of the male and female in specific reproduction. This seemed like a good enough starting point for an art work and placing the ‘ones’ in an regular horizontal and vertical axis was (at that time) some form of achievement. A rhythm was achieved within the chosen square format, subliminally suggesting a division into nine equal parts.

Juxtaposing a piece of timber in the shape of the number ‘nought’ with inkjet prints on paper really did seem a combination of the traditional and the innovative, a bridge between the past and the future, reason enough and a valid, creative activity. The idea of a round formed ‘nought’ being made up of two tangible cheeks either side of a gulf giving into the underlying surface suggests the grail of encountering certain intimate female parts, which in turn leads to the ensuing subdivision of newly created cells - such is biology.

However, very stark was the result. The addition of three found metal objects and a handmade ash wood frame were not enough to validate the exercise. So a little later, I added the three primary pigmentary colours composed around the nine part division, which somehow pulled the piece together.

‘Somewhere Between Zero’ may well be seen only as a follow up piece, but as its title suggests, is a significant expression of how Iwas feeling at the time.