Once upon a time long ago and far away: there were twenty three units of blood kept in a drawer, 2016-2017, metal plaster and aluminium foil, size variable

A decolourised cross sits within a filing cabinet drawer.  The aluminium gilded cross is layered onto cracked and distorted white paint left to set in the base of the drawer.   This is one of twenty three large individual silver cross work that make up this large installation.

Decolourising is a chemical process used to remove unwanted staining material involved in the preparation of microscope slides or to remove coloured impurities from a material, often a liquid such as water. It is both a process and an end result or materiality. Decolourising the red cross mark shifts the focus to the more formal aspects of the symbol without the often-overriding associations of the colour red. Previously I have used gilding with aluminium foil onto plastic and metal surfaces to achieve the decolourised process.

However, there is a tension as it is the red colour of blood that signifies its usefulness to the body. The depth and shade of red shows the amount of haemoglobin per litre and/or the percentage of oxygenated haemoglobin in the blood. So, the process of decolourising strips away this signifier of purpose and effectiveness.