The Gossamer Prison

by Sonja van Kerkhoff + Sen McGlinn, 2004

Persian text installation by Sonja van Kerkhoff and Sen McGlinn
Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens, December 2015 - October 2016
Dutch repurposed nylon curtain + transparent nylon thread

Sculpture Northland, 4th biennial sculpture show in the subtropical Quarry Gardens, Whangārei, Nov 2015
On the left: The Prison of self is the circular plaque on the tree trunk.

artwork, copyrighted by Sonja van Kerkhoff

Zaostrog Monastery, Croatia, July 2004.

2004 Photos: Julie Fowler-Smith, Australia.

Detail of The Gossamer Prison, a Dutch repurposed nylon curtain with Persian text cut and sewn into it
Photo: Julie Fowler-Smith, Australia.
Zaostrog Monastery, Croatia, July 2004

"The Gossamer Prison" consists of a sheer curtain that shows its soul in the emptied spaces of cutout letters, which read (in Persian):

"Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul from the prison of self."

Persian was chosen because of the beauty of the flowing shekasteh script, and because it a medium for mysticism, especially in the hands of poets.

Curtains such as this are made to be seen through, while creating a private space. In this work however the viewer is required to focus on the barrier of the curtain's surface, to see the lettering there.

The theme is an ancient truth: the limitations we impose on ourselves constrain us in a real way, yet we can break those bonds as easily as brushing aside a flimsy curtain.

The text is a citation from the Persian Hidden Word, #40 by Baha'u'llah, founder of the Bahai Faith

<< Photo: Sculpture Northland, 4th biennial sculpture show in the subtropical Quarry Gardens, Whangārei, Aotearoa | New Zealand, Nov 2015

4 nylon lines allow it to move in the breeze

Persian text installation by Sonja van Kerkhoff and Sen McGlinn with circular plaque on the tree, The Prison of self.
Dutch repurposed nylon curtain and transparent nylon thread showing text in the negative spaces

artwork by Sonja van Kerkhoff + Sen McGlinn
Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens,
Aotearoa / New Zealand
Dec 2015 - Oct 2016

installation by Sonja van Kerkhoff + Sen McGlinn
Leids Wevershuis, Leiden Museum of Weaving, The Netherlands
Leids Wevershuis | Leiden Museum of Weaving,
The Netherlands, 2008

Zaostrog Monastery, Croatia, July 2004

installation by Sonja van Kerkhoff + Sen McGlinn
Photo: Julie Fowler-Smith, Australia, 2004

Shown

2015	"Kaipara Coast Sculpture 2016" 8th annual sculpture show, Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens, 4km north of Kaukapakapa Village, Auckland, Aotearoa \| New Zealand
2015	"Northland Sculpture" 4th biennial sculpture show in the Quarry Gardens, 37A Russell Road, Whangarei, Aotearoa \| New Zealand
2015	The Prison of Self Print edition related to this work
2015	HOMETOWN one day arts festival coordinated by Peen en Ui, Leiden city centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
2008	Threads of the Day Leids Wevershuis, Leiden Museum of Weaving, Leiden, The Netherlands
2004	"Old House" Nine Dragon Heads Festival, Zaostrog Monastery, Croatia

Photo: Julie Fowler-Smith, Australia, 2004

artwork by Sonja van Kerkhoff + Sen McGlinn

Leids Wevershuis | Leiden Museum of Weaving,
The Netherlands, 2008

Outdoor works | more recent works

Nga Hau e Wha (The Four Winds/Breaths), sculpture scheduled for Sept. 2004.
The Gossamer Prison, curtain and thread, 2004.
Generating Plant, custom-made birdhouse form, 2004.
The Wedding, intervention/installation during the 9 Dragonheads festival, April 2004.
Inland Soul at Sea, 19 hanging forms, 2003.
Colonising Oxford, performances and installations on the streets over a period of two weeks, 2002.
Fruits of the Earth, spiral cut out of a dried grass area inserted with plastic flowers, 2003.
With fire we test the gold and with gold we test our servants, 2003, wooden sculpture made during a Sculpture Symposium in a park in a village in Northern Romania.
Parking Spaces for Important Visitors, 2001, paintings on shaped canvas laid over a floor/ground.
Inspiration, 2001, paintings on shaped canvas laid over a floor/ground.
Just pour les oiseaux (Strictly for the birds), 2001, installations and performances during a walk through a forest setting led by a guide.
Onder vier ogen (Between you and me) , 2001, mask-forms hung on trees, with texts and images in the orifices.
Dans le jardin des beaux arts, 19 snail forms, 2000 (in various locations).
The Living Creature, 1999, performances by seven artists and one child in a rose garden in a public park in London.
Change is a Law of Nature, 1996, performances on the streets, in Hull and London, U.K. (repeated in other locations in 2001, 2002, and 2004).
Memorials, 1996-2001, ceramic tiles laid into the earth.
Te Koru Iwa, 1996, fire drawing at the Oerol Arts Festival, The Netherlands.
Letters van de Levende, 1996, 19 batiked flags, Oerol Arts Festival.