‘Optical Brighteners’ came about out of a desire to involve the viewer and bring enjoyment through colour. Originally conceived as a visual colour-mixing installation, I soon noticed parallels with a previous installation. 

‘Red Wash’ (2010), a site specific installation, consisted of every red fabric item from my household. These were laundered and hung on a clothesline in rows. On the ground below the wet items I placed white bowls that held red coloured water. ‘Red Wash’ was an expression of my unrelenting grief over my father who had passed away six years earlier. (Scroll down for images.)

For ‘Optical Brighteners’ I was again hanging poignant colours. The intervening years had seen me initially looking for ways to escape my grief, and then pursuing happiness. The colours this time are happy ones and the bowls of coloured water beneath represent the myriad ways I found I could create happiness for myself.