Mesh

 

Each early Mesh piece incorporates several strata of mesh, with vertical cuts in the mesh in several layers.  A lace-like effect is created which ultimately affects the color, density and gesture of each piece. Later Mesh works take on a more organic, evocative quality. When installed, focused lighting creates a cast shadow which becomes an integral part of each piece.

“Begun in 2006, the ongoing Mesh series has delighted viewers in particular through the wide range of textures embodied by their industrial materials, such as fiberglass, steel and copper wire…With stiff-looking bodies covered with wire-y and fuzzy skins, these critter-like figures produce visual effects that contradict their physical makeup. Appearing like sartorial fragments of taffeta and netting, mohair and cashmere, perhaps plucked from the skirts of a maiden in a Rococo painting, their not-so-soft-to-the-touch fibers are sharp, although the artist has painstakingly bent, woven, and twisted them into submission to produce their airy bodies and iridescent surfaces animated by their own shadows.” - Jennie Hirsh, from “Before and After Language: The Art of Madelin Coit”