Dail Behennah

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Structured

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The work Dail has made for this exhibition demonstrates continued investigation of the complex woven paper structure for which she is known.

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‘Shadows Drawn, Shadows Cast’ and ‘Shimmer’ both employ two different widths of strip, and the changes in the blocks as these pass over each other create an undulating surface. Although Dail meticulously plans on paper before making, it always surprises her seeing how they look when complete. "Shimmer" has blocks of different angled facets whereas "Shadows Drawn"

has a much more organic rippled effect. In the latter, shaded areas of strips have also been added before weaving. Some sections are visible from the right and others from the left, adding a further element of surprise.

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Dail has been making these complex structures for some time. During lockdown she continued to develop the work and discovered that she could invert a section of a regular weave, creating a discontinuity.

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The two white panels, ‘Timeless’ and ‘Horizon’ are an exercise in seeing how light falls on a surface. The differences in the sections of the work are subtle but Dail finds them satisfying. She made the one with a vertical strip first, and naturally had to try to make a horizontal one as well. During making Dail found this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson,

“The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon. We are never tired, so long as we can see far enough.”

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‘Hexagonal Tiling of a Rhombille Structure’ is also a development of the paper weave. If 4 layers of hexagons are superimposed they create the block pattern found in the regular weaving. Dail has spent 2 years trying, and failing, to make this and finally worked out a way of cutting sticks to different lengths and gluing them at right angles to create the folded hexagons: an intellectual challenge that casts beautiful shadows.

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Dail likes her work to appear calm but not still; line, light and shadow are always primary concerns.

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If you would like to discus a commission for a paper construction, Dail is happy to do so.