Suntrap VIII, 2011

‘Suntrap VIII’ by Esther Jiskoot (1963, the Netherlands) is part of a larger series of sculptures with which she seeks to capture the luminescent beauty of the sun’s rays. Rendered in a blaze of yellow, ‘Suntrap VIII’ bears witness to Jiskoot’s practice of integrating divergent materials with glass beads, which she strings on long threads before crocheting or knitting them into various forms. Titles are integral to Jiskoot’s work. They “form part of the sensory aspect thereof” she says, and also the key to understanding them. This work, resembling an old fashioned hunter’s trap, the ribs of which are formed by (or maybe infused with) rays of sunlight, embodies both the promise and impossibility of harnessing the power of one of nature’s most majestic natural resources: the sun.