The shadow of murder still lies upon my sleep

These are three new chairs I made earlier this year, which extend upon the 2006 series of works: The Shadow of Murder Lay Upon My Sleep.  I was approached to consider this in regards the show Slash: Paper under the Knife at the Museum of Arts and Design I did so without hesitation as not much as changed in the three years since that project was made.  The actuality of the core themes and the daily situation within the Middle East specifically, that are framed by these works remain unchanged.  The lack of reconciliation remain unchanged.  The continual and escalating loss of lives - of civilians, 'terrorists' and soldiers remain unchanged. The gap between the mass of intellectual literary response to Sept 11, critical, urgent, insightful that was spurred and the apparent lack of reception into the mainstream seems to be growing, remaining unchanged.  The loss of voices remain unchanged.  The ambivalent remorse and confusion between my person and civic agency remain unchanged.

Untitled #25 from the series The Shadow of Murder Lay Upon My Sleep, 2009

Photograph: Stefan Bagnoli

Untitled #24 from the series The Shadow of Murder Lay Upon My Sleep, 2009

Photograph: Stefan Bagnoli

Untitled #26 from the series The Shadow of Murder Lay Upon My Sleep, 2009

Photograph: Stefan Bagnoli

Sangeeta Sandrasegar's work touches upon timeless issues and universal themes as viewed through the lens of contemporary culture, politics and identity concerns.  Her Australian and Indian-Malaysian background has also led her to explore and comment on colonialism and cultural hybridism.  To illuminate her inquiries, she turns to recent and contemporary events.  Themes of revenge, retribution and violence were addressed in the Goddess of Flowers series (2003-4) ...  Her cut-paper works based on the archetypal images of feet and hands often blatantly depict political and sexual scenes within decorative frames that evoke the complex patterns of henna body decorations.  The Shadow of Murder Lay Upon My Sleep series takes its title from a line in Bertolt Brecht's poem "To Posterity".  The piece she created for Slash: Paper Under the Knife uses the forms of three iconic modern chairs - the ZigZag chair by Gerrit Rietveld, the Wassily armchair by Marcel Breuer and the Charles Eames RAR rocking chair.  The two-dimensional cutouts, when installed, create shadows that give the illusion of the third dimension.  With this device, Sandrasegar raises questions about how reality is defined by both plans and accidents.  The chairs express the optimistic belief that art and design could alter and improve the world at large. The forms are further cut with scenes of violence, strife and anguish that argue the opposite point of view.

-David Revere McFadden, Slash: Paper Under the Knife exhibition catalogue