A study of the skeleton. Bones as scaffolding; as guardian. The ribs are the protectors of a pulpy thing.
A study of the heart conduction system.
The moment between the nervous system and cardiovascular system. A network of nodes,
cells, and electrical signals that keep the heart beating at a proper pace in any given
circumstance. A rhythm; a responsibility.
A pulsating machine operating imperceptibly within the darkness of the anatomy.
Do I ever notice my heartbeat? If so, when? What other small registers of movement do I
miss out on amidst the rush of life?
A concentrated mode of attention to a subliminal measure of mortality and time.
A video; a technological trick. The heart beating at the usual 60-100 bpm slowed down to
1 bpm. A technique of disruption upon a timepiece that marks the flow of time. A near
intolerable slowness.
There is a tension between humans and the ungraspable concept of cosmic time.
Cyanotype.
Prints of entities that yield to time – shadows; states of matter. A frivolous attempt to
suppress time’s inexorable passage.
This is an illusion. Question it.
A slow process of accumulative mark making.
Rather than examine, explore, or collaborate with time – sit with it. A meditation.
A vessel.
At different proportions, orientations, scales, levels of detail. An attempt to enter a
dynamic reality that fuses dream/reality, past/future, actuality/memory. Humans are not
the measure of all things.
A field trip.
Places next to nowhere. Neighbours to nothing. What would impel a visit?
Drumheller, Alberta.
Flavours of both seclusion and immersion. The fostering of eternal delight and endless
lethargy – two rhythms needed in life?
The barren badlands.
Scattered with fossils and largely untouched by advanced technologies. An
anticipatory atmosphere: the machines will invade the gardens.
A fast forward.
Artificial intelligence systems adopting a growing repertoire of the qualities typically
associated with the human condition – a becoming of agents of design.
Does technology have to be the antagonist? Can it be harnessed as an opportunity?
The program: an artist residency.
A catalyst for slow motion working away from responsibility – the pressures of the world.
A place to facilitate earnest attempts at creating meaning.
It is tucked away. When driving on the highway, it would go unnoticed. From the
Midland National Park walking trail it could be discovered. The approach would bring
you to the supply room which has to be passed in order to get to the art gallery –
displaying the often concealed aspects of creation. The residences are nestled in the
valley with the studios facing the North open land. The interstitial space between
residential and studio gives way to recklessness – a reprieve from the quiet contemplation.
A syncopation; and interruption of flow. The stilted structure allows for erosion to
continue. The linear and elongated structure contrasts the organic landscape. The materials
– corten steel and charred wood – reflect an expression of time.
A prelude to an upcoming epoch.
An unideal machine set upon a landscape of beauty and wonder.
Remaining questions:
How does technology stretch what is human about us and our spaces?
What would a meaningful collaboration – an alignment – look like that