Gail Roberts

Gail Roberts' Entanglement series focuses on books, titles and text as subject matter juxtaposed with images of birds’ nests.  In addition to collecting paperbacks of classic literature, she has also acquired a large variety of birds’ nests.

The nests are accumulations of natural elements interwoven to form cradles, architectural feats in their strength and endurance.  They evoke references to birth and innocence, but when abandoned they have qualities of death and decay – containers of decomposing organisms revealing heightened contradictions of attraction and repulsion. Many of the nests are embedded with a surprising range of materials including dryer lint, shredded paper, carpet fiber, thread, human hair, and animal fur.

The books depicted reflect on notions of naivete versus wisdom, fantasy versus reality, and suppression versus freedom. Reading has had a profound impact in forming my own perceptions.  The fictional worlds created in these novels are secondary tangible realities.  The paintings are a vehicle for inquiry and commentary regarding my reflections on nature, culture, and our temporal existence.