Material dynamics
Project Gallery
1109 Queen St. East, Toronto
Oct 30 - November 5, 2014
Because of how humans sense the world around them, it is easy, and in many ways convenient, to think of the surfaces and objects around us as static. In reality all of humanity’s creations are temporary arrangements of matter that is itself in a perpetual state of more or less gradual transformation - in other words, matter is inherently dynamic. Sometimes this kind of material change produces visible results, like moisture spots or rust stains - marks that develop as a result of a continuous process, though they appear static to us because of the pace of change is so gradual. The work in Material Dynamics is about exploring these moments of confrontation with matter that has been changed by time and broken free of its previous form.
These confrontations happen all the time, and produce a range of responses - some changes are seen as signs of "ruin," decay, neglect, or uncleanliness while others are seen as desirable patinas that imbue the object with value (distressed edges on reclaimed furniture) or sacredness (ancient temples covered in moss).
These pieces are designed to illustrate unremarkable parts of humanity's self-constructed environment that have acquired a kind of aesthetic value because of their outer characteristics that imply the passage of time and interactions with weather, flora, and fauna, causing a divergence from some assumed prior state of being that was more complete, clean, and ordered. Why is some decay undesirable while some is appealing, and at what point does the change occur?