Shelly Goldsmith, Laser Cutting

• Creation Date:Monday 3rd November, 2008

Summary

Visual artist Shelly Goldsmith uses textile materials and processes as a metaphor for imagining how psychological states, emotions and memories associated with human fragility and loss can be made visible in cloth. Awarded funding by the Arts Council, she is currently working on a two-year project addressing psychedelic matter and experience.

Shelly Goldsmith commented “I have been struck by the way second hand clothing carries memory, and absorbs and reflects physical experience, for example how a favourite jacket takes on the shape of its wearer”.

Shelly’s current work aims to expose the narrative imbued into a garment by it’s former owner. Clothes come from a number of sources; some are discovered in charity shops, others are picked up on ebay and others are precious items gifted to her by friends and family. Though some of the garments have a known provenance, most have experienced a sort of collective time-lapse; packed up or discarded only to be re-discovered years later.

“In this new body of work I have listened carefully to the stories that these anonymous garments seem to mutter. Glimpses of domestic interiors, provided by the chaotic rooms of a derelict doll’s house; the ravages of an internal tornado or the final parting thought of the wearer are the various narratives I imagine to be laying just beneath the surface of the cloth or embedded in the fibre. These implied narratives are ‘imagined truths’ I have sought to expose through a series of pertinent technical procedures.”

Once resolved the narrative is tattooed onto the cloth; transforming it from a functional object to a provocative piece of sculptural artwork. Images are scalded onto the pieces using a laser cutter in a very multi-layered collage style.

Shelly has been practicing for over 20 years and exhibited internationally, but this project saw her migrating from traditional production methods into digital manufacture for the first time. Keen to keep the whole process creative and ensure that her work developed organically, Shelly wanted to find a manufacturer who would support her throughout the process whilst allowing her to be experimental with the technology. She discovered Metropolitan Works through the web and was pleased to hear that they would be willing to help her realise her ideas. Based in London’s vibrant East End, Metropolitan Works strives to provide the tools for creative minds to innovate by providing creative practitioners with access to formerly inaccessible digital machinery, complimented by a range of support and advice packages.

Shelly bulk-bought 25 hours of laser-cutting time at Metropolitan Works and was supported throughout the project by the Centre’s Laser Cutting Technician David. “The support offered by David was invaluable, he immediately tapped into the project and explained the different options available at every stage. The whole process was very collaborative.”

Shelly was surprised by how much she was able to achieve in such a small amount of time; completing four finished pieces in 25 hours. Although she admits that the leap into digital technology seemed intimidating at first, she now regards the laser cutter as “just another tool” and would advise other artists to “give new technology a go”.

To see more of Shelly’s work visit www.shellygoldsmith.com