The body of work, 'penso a te…' 2010 was created during an arts residency at the Canberra Glassworks, a heritage listed building in Canberra, Australia.
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My work has revolved around the themes of the interaction between past and present with a particular focus on light. In 2008 I created the series 'being on the edge of abstraction' in my house and after this project, the Canberra Glassworks was a challenging project for me to move on to - from a small private space to the public domain of a building that belonged to the city. Particularly fascinating were the multi panelled windows of the building and the light that flooded its interior. I remember that was the first thing I noticed when I walked into the building were the dirt laden windows and the light that lit my desk every day as I worked in the building.

 

Since time immemorial, artists have used the grid to depict the spiritual aspect of life in a myriad ways. I photographed the windows as they spoke to me in a similar way...almost as if they were the soul of the building.

 

While at the Glassworks I was entranced by the glass artists who worked in it and as if to emulate them I crocheted delicate necklaces out of yarn representing the quintessential glass form, "the vessel", in various shapes and sizes. 

In the words of Clare Belfrage, Creative director Canberra Glassworks, “During the residency Payal inhabited musty tunnels, odd corners, voluminous stair wells, working with light where it leaked or flooded into space. Through the final works created from her time at the Canberra Glassworks we are shown something of a mystery and melancholy, exploring the power and space that is taken up by absence.”