Index II

This is one of a number of works in which Gerard Quinn 'recycles' his drawings to create a form that is simultaneously sculptural and graphic. The drawings may be maps, annotations, sketches of landscape, and so on. They may be on a variety of paper and sometimes date back several years. Quinn cut them into small strips and rolled them tightly into little scrolls. He then arranged these in close-fitting parallel rows within the frame, so that only a fragment of each drawing is presented to the viewer. The pattern evokes a variety of formal precedents, such as oriental scroll paintings, prayer scrolls tucked into temple walls, libraries or archives, esoteric or coded messages. Taken as a whole, the piece suggests the vast resources of historical documentation to which we have increasing access, yet which remains inscrutably enigmatic. They also remind us that the environmentally/politically correct re-cycling of materials is a process through which artists often arrive at their most interesting works.