The Redeemed Lizard and the Caged Hourglass

THE REDEEMED LIZARD AND THE CAGED HOURGLASS. 1996- 2022. 

Dimensions: 290 X 165 X 50cm (approx)
 Medium: Mild steel and painted wood.

This piece was first exhibited on my 1997 ‘Contemplations’ exhibition but has since been extensively reworked and a new metal base was made for it.

The ‘redeemed lizard’ aspect of this portal refers to the strange phenomenon of a cold blooded lizard receiving a redemptive mantle, the skin of a red blooded animal, sacrificed for this purpose.

What makes it even more curious is that this redemptive act happens despite the fact that lizards have been revered as a symbol of regeneration through the ages, because it naturally sheds its skin!
The poised lizard, in its newfound redemptive status, stares up a diagonal form, trying to make sense of what is being held in the fork-like arrangement at the other end. This bifurcation holds a large spindle-shape (cage) that in turn holds in check an hour glass (time). Whereas the spindle tapers at both ends, giving it the feeling that it can move either way, the hourglass does the exact opposite, as its two identical halves taper off in the middle, giving it its distinctive shape. The overall effect is that of arrested time.

For those of you who are perplexed by all of this, I implore you to imagine the following: What would happen if a moment in time could be isolated and then miraculously restored to what it would have been like if the Garden of Eden debacle had not taken place, and then, reinserted back into its time slot? Also, consider what would happen to time before and after the prepostrous reinsertion of such a perfect moment?

Surely if this were possible, lizards would not need redemption and pigs would fly!