Matter of Life & Death (Bolero)

Barbara Neri began collecting and flattening cereal boxes around 1992. At the time such paper packaging could not be re-cycled and this troubled her. She eventually began reconstructing the flattened boxes with a glue gun. There were so many they took over her studio and the idea of hanging a net and tossing them inside came to her. The net was 14 feet square and bulging with hundreds of boxes and by then other food containers. One day she let them out of the net and a process laced with research and serendipity ensued that eventually resulted in Matter of Life & Death (Bolero).

The B & W photos seen here were taken by Julia Millis of a performance of this work at the Lyric Stage, Boston MA.

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Click here to see pictures from a recent installation of "Matter of Life & Death (Bolero)" and read the artist statement Neri wrote to learn how this earlier work connects to her current work.