Defence Net Works

These pieces are ideas for an installation piece called 'Defence Net Works'. They have their basis again in the idea of camouflage as they are supposed to resemble camouflage nets from WW1 that would have been draped over large gun emplacements on the Western Front. I thought it would be interesting to replace the traditional everyday garnish with medal ribbons. It's interesting that the approach to camouflaging gun positions was different to that of ships (Dazzle camouflage) and planes (Lozenge pattern) due to fact they were static and required concealment so it was necessary to have the gun and its crew blend into their surroundings. This of course, dictated the colour of the garnish added to the nets. By replacing the usual garnish colour with much more colourful medal ribbons, I wanted to illustrate the sacrifice the soldiers made (all that is left of the men who fought in this conflict in many cases is their medals) I would like to find a way of stamping the verse from Ephesians 6 that talks about putting on the shield of faith, on each ribbon as the men underneath were putting their faith in the flimsy garnished net above them keeping them safe but that has yet to be resolved. An interesting aside to how these new nets look is they now sit well alongside the brightly coloured palettes of dazzle ships, lozenge planes and impressionistic artillery pieces from the time.

These are from my sketchbook


Defence Net Work 1

Defence Net Work 2

Defence Net Work 3

Photoshopped versions

Ultimately I would like to have these completed and hung in a space in the same way they would have been suspended over the gun emplacements they were protecting. I would like the viewers to be able to walk underneath and look through upwards through the nets. If the space had a source of natural light then all the better as the light would cast interesting patterns, shadows and colours onto the space inside the net. John Keane's 'Impressionist Tank' is an example of how I envisage this looking if ever realised.