Tacit Online Exhibition: Spoons

 
Linda Weil's solo exhibition Spoons was foreshortened by the current lock-down and will be unavailable when we re-open. So for those who did not get the chance to see it up close and personal in early July - HERE it is.

"No one really knows when the spoon was first invented, though archaeologists have found fossils that suggest the Neanderthal created spoon-like instruments of seashells and animal bones. Our ancestors used shells or animal horn attached to sticks. Spoons were carved from wood; the word spoon comes from spon, the Anglo-Saxon word meaning 'a chip of wood'. Shell, bone, pewter, bronze, copper, and silver have all been used to create a handy tool for transferring food from a bowl to our mouth. 

My fascination with spoons began when I was looking for a drawing subject for my students. I wanted something that had a familiar shape, allowing a form interesting enough for both a novice or more advanced student to draw. It also had to reflect light and give a wide range of tonal options for graphite drawings. A variety of design within a common form was another a desire. And finally, as I needed many of the objects, it could not be too expensive to supply. Spoons fit all my criteria. Some I already owned, and the local Op-shop supplied more in a variety of styles and design at a mere $1 each. 

As I cleaned and polished my collection I began to wonder about each spoon's history. Where was this spoon made, when and by whom? Who bought it and why? Each spoon seemed to tell me a story. Every spoon drawing in this exhibition comes with a history. Some stories required a little research and are true, others are family traditions and may or may not be totally true, and the rest are pure imagination. None of my spoons are worth much in dollar value, but the stories and history they tell are priceless."

Linda Weil 

Click on link at the top of the page or click here to see exhibition in full.