An exhibition of sculpture by Marguerite Derricourt
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Bags have many meanings for us; we are born in a bag, take our first
school lunch in a bag, pack bags to travel the world, sometimes for
pleasure and sometimes when forced by circumstances beyond our control.
Bags can be utilitarian or objects of vanity and beauty. The word "bag"
seems to contain many potent and ambiguous meanings ranging from mild
verbal insults to concepts like "baggage" which now has an implication
of past memories and events or of a weight born.
The bags in this exhibition are emblems and are therefore unusable; in
some instances they create the illusion of a real bag but the materials
are definitely not those of the normal bag. The materials have become
the subject, as in the "Hebel Bag", the "Plaster Bag", the "Plastic Bag"
and the "Paper Bag".
Moving on from this the bags became increasingly surreal as I explored
puns and verbal associations from the word "bag" opening up an endless
array of humorous and sometimes quite poetic images ; this in turn has
led to fresh explorations of materials and concepts. Some titles include
"Old Bag", an ancient terracotta briefcase; the "Rat Bag" and the
"Handbag" in fabric and found objects; the "Tee Bag" and the "Bean Bag"
using cast objects, the "Baguette" and the "Body Bag" which speak for
themselves.
While the exhibition is unified by a common theme I have attempted to
retain the sculptural qualities of each bag so that they stand as
individual forms in their own right; experimentation with new and varied
materials has been a challenge and has led me down new and interesting
paths. My intention was to create a fusion of technical and
philosophical concepts, leavened with humour and hopefully entertaining
visual tricks.
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Marguerite Derricourt
