Why, oh y? by Eldon Taylor

I discovered cable ties during the mandatory twenty-one days of lockdown in 2020. I had no access to my sculptural studio but decided to take part in an artist lockdown challenge. I was house-sitting for my mother when I started to look for materials to create with, in the kitchen drawer I found cable ties. I thought they would be interesting to work with having both the qualities of strength and flexibility. 

The series, “Simple T.&.S.T.” created in 2021-2022, continues with the use of cable ties. It comments on the subjective experience of re-engaging with society after being locked down in isolation, as well as documenting my move to Johannesburg in December 2021. The documentation would record my thoughts, feelings, and emotions. If a repeated, or intense moment revealed itself I would sit with that feeling and consult my favourite poetry book, “Simple Things and Simple Thoughts”, by Eldon Taylor. His perspective on topics such as clarity, expectations, the past, dedication, ego, and other humanitarian topics was my reflective guide to understanding what I was feeling or going through. I would then sit and meditate on the situational topic and receive images which I visualised and sketched out. I would then start to create cable tie art forming the lines with an intuitive sense. Both dealing with my inner conflicts and finding solutions for my inner work, the cable ties embodied emotional intelligence and acted as a form of healing.