19-20/04/2018 - JIC SPRAY VARNISH AND MIRROR FIXING

I spent a few days giving the piece several coats of slightly tinted acrylic spray varnish to protect the works, particularly focussing on the edges and corners which I thought would be likely to sustain damage. This also lent the work an aged quality, like the slightly off white tones of the etchings in the aged pages of the rare books.
When everything was dry I took the work down to the workshop for one final time to fix the mirror in place. I used special mirror fixative, which formed a flexible bond between glass and other surfaces to ensure it was secure but also able to absorb shocks and protect the mirror. As soon as the mirror was added to the scene the entire piece was lifted and lightened. However it produced a really interesting affect because of the slightly lowered surface of the mirror in the design. The space beyond the mirror appeared almost as an other space entirely, a window which displaces whatever appeares within it and takes it to some parallel microcosm, preserved in the moment like a time capsule. The mirror would need a couple of days to dry, but then the piece would be finished and ready for install.