Let Your Mind Dance No. 4

24″h x 22″w x 2 1/2″
© PJ Bergin
$1100, frame included

Mulberry Paper (Hanji), Thread

Translating the feeling of optimism and hope I felt throughout my community is reflected in the last artwork of the “Jiao Ceng” series. Created later in the year of 2020, shops were starting to open again and there were more people on the street below the studio windows. Figures embedded in the stitching react to the feeling of a bit more freedom as we moved through another phase of the lingering pandemic. The “Jiao Ceng” theme in this series takes inspiration from the direct Chinese translation meaning “stitched layers”. It can be a metaphor for the multiple layers we have in our lives all the while keeping day to day living “stitched together”.

The “Jiao Ceng” series is my interpretation of our world in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. This time of the unknown forced me into the present. I began a meditation, manifested in this artwork, I was not expecting, but now appreciate.

Each artwork is framed in plexiglass. Aside from protecting the artwork, it can also be a metaphor for the way we have had to protect ourselves and each other. While standing in front of each piece in the series your face reflects back to you as your thoughts meander.

Ready for Hanging. The Plexiglas, contemporary frame, included, gives the illusion of the artwork floating off the wall.