Bridget Mullen - The Hum

Bridget Mullen

The earthy texture of brown paper bags, the thick, black, gumminess of tar paper, and the bright colors of banding plastic, a material abundant at the loading dock outside my studio, inspire me. Once essential, now obsolete, these materials shadowed the objects they served to carry, protect, guide, and bind. I value that their aesthetic qualities are circumstantial and integral to their function. I find objects particularly beautiful when the effects of time can be seen on their surface. Because these materials lack archival binders, their decomposition may be seen in my lifetime. I’m eager to see the effect years of air breathing through these materials will have on their appearance. Time is a great collaborator. Each decision I make within a work acknowledges previous decisions. Move by move, the materials’ properties determine how they will be folded, cut, torn, dyed, painted, and combined with other materials. A fold must echo or defy a previous fold, the tears and scars from the materials’ previous life must contribute to the composition. I work knowing that it is what I cannot control that interests me the most. The shadow on the wall completes the composition.