Does this do anything for you?

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I don’t pretend to know much about art but if I have to go to an art gallery, I wander around trying to look knowledgeable. At the New Norcia art gallery recently, the latest winner of the Mandorla Art Award with this piece called ‘Chalice’. The theme was ‘Metamorphosis. “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19) The information board beside it had this to say: “As with a moth’s chrysalis, the chalice holds and shrouds the miracle of transformation. The meditative work to prepare and stitch the hundreds of cocoons became a journey of wonder as I discovered the endless variations held in one genetic blueprint. A window to creativity and transformation occurred, conveying the gravitas of profound change with the fragility of lace. Chalice speaks of reorganization and renewal, the tenuous nature of life and of infinite creativity springing forth.” The creator was Claire Beausein, a West Australian who lives in Broome. ‘Chalice’ consists of wild silkworm cocoons stitched together with silk thread, on cotton rag paper. I can appreciate the technique and work that has gone into this but it does nothing for me otherwise.