all works © Lisa Peachey 2015

Cuckoo

2012

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3 x 4m

Larchwood, varnish, liming wax, plaster, pigment


Commissioned for the Latitude Comtemporary Art Prize is a simple flatplan floor piece, which consists of a central wooden oval stained and polished to reflect its surroundings and an outer oval that is charred (dark mirrors have also been used historically for divination, such that Claude Mirrors are often kept surrounded by charcoal which is deemed as an absorbent material to be able to consume any malevolent spirits (and ofcourse charcoal is a material that can be used to make an image)). These parts are surrounded by some simple plaster pieces which bring the circular into a rectangle, and are suggestive of an architectural space. The title, Cuckoo, is meant to suggest a certain natural mimicry through appearance which is somewhat untoward. I hope that the piece suggests both the possibility of an image and its loss, and highlights the relationship of the purposefully ‘wild’ forest within the wider controlled landscaped environment of Henham Hall.