The Ocean, 2019
Multimedia immersive installation of photographs and sculptures addressing the cosmic makeup of the sea. Through re-imagining Plato’s building blocks of the universe, The Ocean re-acquaints people with the importance of and our dependence upon water, a constantly evolving environment. This multi-faceted approach promotes understanding of the inter-related threads inherent in an ecosystem, which drives and shapes humans just as humans control and effect nature. The work was part of the group exhibition "it can begin with the clouds" curated by john ros, Pinkard Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD.
Materials include: Archival inkjet prints mounted on Dibond, Digital prints on Aluminum, and photographs printed on 22mm Charmeuse silk as well as sculptures made from PLA plastic, Stainless Steel, rusted Steel, clear cast and sand blasted Urethane, plywood with dyed and veneered finishes, custom Aluminum and Steel mounting shelves and blue interior paint. Dimensions variable.
Installed at all levels, the hanging/mounted photographs and wall-mounted sculptures of The Ocean work in concert to immerse the viewer. The photographs are dedications, votives generating spatial tension while the polyhedron sculptures are altars alluding to the character of the element represented. For example, Air sculptures are mounted on the walls near the top of the painted edge, while the Earth sculptures are mounted low to the ground. In keeping with this multi-faceted approach, the substrate for the photographs shifts from fabric, metal and archival paper.
Installation of The Ocean, 2019
Dew Betrays a Spider's Web, 2019. Archival inkjet print on Dibond, 26" x 20".
Roughly 70% of the wall is painted blue to represent the proportion of the earth covered by oceans. The artwork is installed throughout the space specific to their referential elements, ie: "Air" sculptures are above the waterline and "Earth" sculptures are near the ground.
Bellowing at Ancient Megafauna, 2019. Archival inkjet print, 24" x 32"
Endless Shape-Shifting, 2019 Archival Inkjet Print, 37.5" x 23"
Purification - Fire - Inner/Outer, 2019. Flocked PLA Plastic, Aluminum Shelf, 6" Tetrahedron
Cosmic Breath - Air - two halves, 2019 PLA Plastic, Aluminum Shelf w/ Frame: 5"
Whenever It Blows Our Way, 2019. Archival Inkjet print, 20" x 24"
Lungs of the World, 2018. Plywood with maple burl veneer, aluminum shelf. 6" cube
All from a Bud, 2019. Archival inkjet print, 26" x 20"
A Moment of Metabolism, 2019. Archival inkjet print, 26" x 20"
The Ocean is a multi-faceted approach to exploring the sea, beginning with embracing the importance of and our dependence upon water.
Time's Winged Chariot, 2019. Inkjet print, 22mm Charmeuse Silk hung on aluminum plank. 36" x 54"
Affirmation of Life: Water, 2019. Patina, PLA-Plastic, Aluminum shelf. 4" x 4" x 4" Icosahedron
Affirmation of Life - Water, 2019. Clear cast Urethane, painted steel mount. 6" icosahedron
“Deep underground — underwater — unearthed microcosms make up entire systems. Marking, layering, re-marking, re-layering — this delicate archive punctuates as it undulates. Like an ebb and flow, metered rhythms develop songs of desire, hope and maybe even reality. A song emerges, like soft staccato stains — oil extracted from earth to mark, bubbling, in-rhythm and without regard. Photos and sculpture and spatial gatherings become the place where marks are allowed to fade. Meditative brushed water circles on slate, all so that particles evaporate into air. These moments captured and released, continue the cycle of marking and re-marking.”
The exhibition included a tri-fold pamphlet with information about coral reefs and the marine ecosystem.