We are Fragments of an Unknown History, Shaun Caton, 2010, crayon on paper.
Fragments of an Unknown History
“Figurines spiraling upwards on an unsteady axis, spin slowly, and are ‘born’ from the heaving earth. There is a curious mechanical clacking sound. I look out into a field and see hundreds, maybe thousands, of figurines popping up from the topsoil, stained by dampness. Brackish voices begin to merge in one loud ummmming choir. At this point I realize that none of these figurines have ever been discovered. They revolve like spinning tops and return to the ground where they lay hidden, their voices becoming fainter as they disappear down dark ‘funnel’ holes.”
As part of the 2010 Unearthed exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich (UK) and the subsequent publication, performance artist Shaun Caton was asked to respond to the prehistoric Japanese dogū from the Jōmon Culture that were to be installed in the exhibition. The work he produced was provocative and original, taking the viewer (and reader) to new places of engagement, thought, and reaction. In its text and crayon on paper image, Fragments is one of the works that Shaun created. Other images and texts can be found in the book that accompanied the exhibition (Bailey et al. 2010). All images reproduced are under the copyright of Shaun Caton.
For more information about Shaun and his other work follow this link:
For more information about Unearthed check out the book that emerged from the exhibition:
Bailey, D.W., Cochrane, I. and Zambelli, J. 2010. Unearthed: a Comparative Study of Jōmon dogū and Neolithic Figurines. Norwich: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. (https://www.academia.edu/2273711/Unearthed_A_Comparative_Study_of_Jomon_Dogu_and_Neolithic_Figurines_2010_)