Drawing from Above and Below (Here and There)
2010, glass and mirror, 1/4" x 4' x 16' Photo: Meg Alexander
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 4x8 glass and mirror to bring these two aspects of the space into immediate conversation with one another.

The "(Here and There)" in the title refers to the process of making the work. 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.

The latter part of the title also refers to the life of the objects before, during and after the exhibition. My hope is that the glass and mirror will return to the vendor and eventually move out into the world in their more common uses.

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. I hope to collect the various documentation in an artists book.

In this work, I am interested in questions around what elements comprise a work of art and how the making occurs.

 

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.

Links:
www.megalexander.com
www.pat-shannon.com