Drawing from Above and Below, 2010, glass and mirror, .25" x 4' x 16', Boston University 808 Gallery, Boston, MA
This work is a site-responsive, collaborative piece that juxtaposes the two most visually assertive features of the gallery – the floor and the ceiling – by employing single pieces of 4' x 8' glass and mirror to bring these two aspects of the space into immediate conversation with one another.
Unable to physically visit the gallery in Boston from my home in England, I relied upon photographs and floorplans supplemented by additional specific measurements provided by the curator, my own memory of the neighborhood and various images available on the web. These elements combined to give me a virtual sense of the space.
Recognizing that information could not replace physical presence, I invited two of my colleagues to collaborate with me in completing the work onsite by orchestrating the installation. Working from my drawings and overall directions, they brought their own sense of the space into the equation as well as their awarenes of the physical attributes such as light, scale, and the specific quality of the floor.
As I will never experience this work "live," I have asked those present at the exhibition to document their experience of the work and share it with me. In this project, I have been reliant on others to both make the piece and experience it for me.
Unable to physically visit the gallery in Boston from my home in England, I relied upon photographs and floorplans supplemented by additional specific measurements provided by the curator, my own memory of the neighborhood and various images available on the web. These elements combined to give me a virtual sense of the space.
Recognizing that information could not replace physical presence, I invited two of my colleagues to collaborate with me in completing the work onsite by orchestrating the installation. Working from my drawings and overall directions, they brought their own sense of the space into the equation as well as their awarenes of the physical attributes such as light, scale, and the specific quality of the floor.
As I will never experience this work "live," I have asked those present at the exhibition to document their experience of the work and share it with me. In this project, I have been reliant on others to both make the piece and experience it for me.
In this work, I am interested in questions around what elements comprise a work of art and how the making occurs.
This work appeared in the exhibition Traces and Places, 808 Gallery, Boston University, Boston, MA, US, curated by Lynne Cooney. Artists in the exhibition included Hannah Burr, Jennifer Kaufman, Nancy Murphy Spicer, Chris Nau and Laurie Reid
With thanks to Meg Alexander and Pat Shannon, my collaborators, Lynne Cooney, the curator of the exhibition, and Ed Macaskill of Cambridge Glass and Mirror.