Control 005
I enjoy thinking about why a material is used in a certain situation - the same way a painter considers colours in a palette, or an engineer decides on a certain type of gusset during construction. I ask myself - what is meant by a process or a material characteristic to strengthen an expression of concept? Or be more accurate when making the implicit, explicit? These tactile ceramic controls present the fallibility of humans when interacting with technology - or at least a limited capacity. Creating a visual dichotomy, the romantic anti-craftsmanship has been tedious; traces of a wonky humanity navigating a progressively engineered technological landscape. This is meant to be reflected in a word collage, or poem presented in the copper name plates. What is even meant by “tensile vulnerability”? Or “fragmented explanation”? The abstracted vocabulary sets a tone, either through its philosophical loftiness or it’s hand stamped quality - indicative of certain aspects of our capacity. On the surface it’s fun, underneath maybe something more challenging - like AI, and the blurring of humanity as we evolve with the distortion of technology. It’s a hot topic, and also a hard topic and for me, it comes from a place of curiosity and playfulness. I hope sculptures like this can serve as a reminder to play and use imagination to consider our very human parameters.
36”x24”x 3”
Stoneware, aluminum, copper, rivets, and wood.
2022
