Je les résous toutes, dit le serpent (“I solve them all,” said the snake)

mixed media, 2012
light boxes (two side pieces: 5 1⁄2 (h) x 25 1⁄2 (w) x 5 1⁄4 (d), center piece: 5 1⁄2 (h) x 25 1⁄2 (w) x 5 1⁄4 (d)), acrylic panels and shapes, iPad, headphones

Through the ages, art has been defined as a vehicle for expression and communication, but what if you need to articulate something that you can’t tell anyone? Je les résous toutes, dit le serpent explores the underlying meaning and emotion hidden in codes by memorializing an excruciating event that changed the artist’s view on life.

The twenty-five crystal clear acrylic shapes in light boxes make up a physical Morse code spelling out: “12/19.” The looping fifty-two second animation flashes one-hundred-and-nine snapshots asking, also in Morse code, a question perhaps no one knows the answers to: “How can I say goodbye to someone that was never here?” The visual style and the construction of the light boxes and the support for the iPad were derived from the design of western fireplace mantels where people often place memorabilia. The handcrafted pattern on the plexiglass panels inside of the light boxes are stylized images drawn from the Dunhuang Buddhist frescoes in China.

The title of this artwork is a phrase excerpted from the famous French novella, Le Petit Prince. In a story about mysteries, the serpent is the only absolute even though he speaks in riddles.