22''w x 10''depth x 36.5''ht

Clay, iron nails, dyed canvas, Mild steel.

2017

Words are ephemeral until they are hammered down as text. Here the tongue, as an organ of freedom and sensuality, has been ripped out and pinned down. A thing of beauty has been caught and trapped in the manner of a Victorian lepidopterist collection, thus losing their patina and sheen. Once words are censored, locked up and made exclusive to the few, freedom of speech, a basic human right, is curtailed. For a society to be healthy words have to take flight and pollinate ideas, not be constricted as tools of propaganda and subjection. The work is representative of the tongues of all artists that have been silenced by a dictatorial State.