An
exploration in chance through the layered application of wax paste
infused with oil color. Stencils were applied after each layer was
cured. Depending on the resulting shapes, areas were emphasized
or mottled. The same stencils and a limited palette of three colors
were used throughout the series to emphasize the variety of permutations
available through layering and masking.
The
name of the series, Tetragrammaton, derives from the Kabalistic
name for the four-letter name of god (YHVH). The Kabalists believed
that the true name of god was to be found in the permutations
of these letters. The similar approach to the creation of the
series led to the name. The shapes used as stencils are a turtle
shell pattern and a repeated tooth (with root). These were arrived
at from a dream of a giant flat turtle sitting on one of many
rocks bordering a small grassy peninsula, which reminded me of
a lower jaw. The turtle was also important as an exploration in
chance, as the oracles of ancient China used a turtle shell thrown
into a fire, the resulting cracks of which were then interpreted
by the oracle.
