‘Maze’ by Allison Kinnaird
When I walked into the NMS’ art and design the first exhibit that had caught my eye was Alisons Kinnaird’s Maze. The piece is made out of optical glass that has LED lights lighting them up which then makes the dichroic coloured glass in front, which have the designs cut into them, light up. Kinnaird has said that Maze “epitomises how we search for a path through life”. With the use of circles to symbolise the cycle of death and rebirth she also uses the figures following a golden “thread”, used in legend to escape from mazes, that Kinnaird that uses to “signify the line of life”. The circular patterns are also printed on textile which hangs above the glass imagery. The figures and their poses is imagery that I found powerful. The way that they all seem to be fumbling and clambering immediately made me think of how they seem lost and struggling. As well as the figures disappearing behind parts of the pattern. I also think that the idea of feeling lost is also conveyed in the fact that as the piece progresses to the right.
