Carrie Fertig's 'Forgiveness' at the National Glass Centre, is a personal journey through the artist's torment and how she chooses to forgive and heal from her experiences. The exhibition is divided into sections or 'steps of forgiveness' and holds interactive elements to connect the audience emotionally. Fertig uses flameworked glass, installation, film, sound and performance to portray her message, as well as text on the walls to guide you through the work and explain the motive. Carrie Fertig has engaged with diverse groups and collected their stories that sometimes end with forgiveness and sometimes don’t. These collected personal stories form parts of interactive artworks. The audience is also encouraged to take part, either etching a story of forgiveness into a glass table with a diamond pen, recording their story through a microphone or writing down an emotion or story they wish to get rid of, and burn it using the candle. This means that the exhibition heavily relies on audience participation, and will change continuously over time.
Throughout the exhibition, jarring sounds can be heard. This is a recording of the performance piece Fertig performed at the opening of the exhibition in which she dropped a weighted glass ball onto a sheet of glass, which subsequently cracked and shattered. This glass can also be foundin the centre of the exhibition. A film piece of this is also included.
Another series of pieces exhibited, is a series of impractical accessories such as weighted earrings and necklaces and a helmet, with sharp glass fragments stuck into it. One of the most interesting parts about this series is that Fertig used the ashes of her late sister in the glass she used.
Comments