It Cuts Both Ways

It Cuts Both Ways is the culmination of artworks in various mediums on the idiom of cutting both ways: a lithograph, watercolour, acrylic painting, and chromed bronze, all titled To Cut Both Ways. The idiom is expressed through hands attached to shears, to show that the actions of one have an equal effect on the actions of another. Any potential movement of one pair of hands would activate the blades equally, regardless of size, race, and sex.

The sculpture is balanced to be free-standing on the knuckles of one hand and the point of a blade. Huon pine is a rare Australian timber salvaged from forest floors and lakes. The closely spaced growth rings of this slow-growing pine mimic fingerprints. I cut the sleeves from garments and modified them on my sewing machine. I coloured the woman’s hands with a wash of raw umber paint, and polished both hands with wax.