Suspension of Disbelief

Techniques: Resist construction of a hollow felt form. Joining of seven pre-felt forms into a unified piece. Incorporation of beads and surface fibre and fabric during the felting process. Shibori tying to create texture and surface relief.
Media: Wool, Silk Fabric, and Bamboo, Hemp, Silk and Banana Fibre, beads, thread stuffing, methyl cellulose, metal support.

‘Suspension of Disbelief’ is a representation of our ability to temporarily accept as credible something that we know to be incredible. Whether we are willingly able to suspend our disbelief as suggested by S.T. Coleridge or whether we are able to create imaginary worlds which operate under different logical rules as advocated by J.R.R. Tolkien, we overcome the pragmatism of reality and experience a host of emotions and unreal realities that make our lives richer. But with this can come a sense of absence or loss when we return to the reality of day-to-day life.

The suspended felt head armour ( or chanfron and criniere) of a unicorn are intended to represent the beauty and wonder of the mythical while conveying its absence in the present reality. Positioning of the piece at head height with top lighting is intended to support the notion of a body being absent.