Zahra Mansuri

Brace and Bear

This piece has nine alternating horizontal segments attached with brass jump rings. The alternating segments are made of wood or animal bone. The wood segments are covered with a fine woven brass Viking knit. The bone segments have a carving of a simplified vertebrae which has been filled with gold leaf inlay. At the end of the Viking knit are S hooks which attach to safety pins. (Photo: Zoe McLean)

“This piece addresses the following symptoms, muscle weakness and chronic pain. Using imagery from the human skeleton this work is inspired by the spine and ribcage. The alternate materials are wood from tree branches, and animal bone. The tree branches are surrounded by a technique called Viking knit, which is worked meticulously in the round. The animal bones are carved into and adorned with gold leaf. These two techniques of surrounding the branch and carving into the bone are used to represent chronic pain that can be felt in the bones. the symptom of muscle weakness is also translated into the work by the transition of the Viking knit, it remains stiff around the branch but becomes limp and flexible at the ends. This piece attaches to the front of the body with a cross hooking design, where two Viking knit tubes are crossed over one another and hooked together, as well as a series of pins that are fastened into the garment of the wearer.”