My work is ‘in’ time, not denying the passage or the wear of its particularities in relation to its condition found in space and time. My work is made of elements that embrace and employ the relationship between material and time. This phenomenon is noteworthy due to the possibilities of my work sharing the same behaviour space/time as a viewer.
I deal with the non-permanent condition of materials in order to embrace the transformational character of materials that equates the condition of existence. This theory of correlating the art object with biological decay is in direct opposition to the ‘out of time’ experience that is reinforced by the framing of the gallery and its affiliated systems of preservation. This comparison is particularly true when one views imaged-based sculpture, minimalist, modernist or post-minimalist works. The treatment of material in these approaches is such that a pristine, stable surface must be maintained in order to uphold a particular achieved moment.
Choosing particular materials for their durability against time sustains the quality of the surface and thus the image. The inner quality or core of the object becomes secondary to the surface of the sculpture. The structural support of the sculpture is not considered beyond the practical implications of constructing the surface. Structural support (i.e. armature) is a common structural component in most sculpture; therefore, it is not a matter of a particular style or genera that directs the choice of just dealing with surface. The work is frozen in time, thus framing the form from behavioural space and deterioration. I call this phenomenon ‘out of time’ and points to the proficient use of the gallery as a means of creating a hermetically-sealed, didactic space, in simple terms, an extension of the frame as a device to reinforce pictorial space. The frame is a device of separation and delineation from our experiential or behavioural relation with the ‘thingness’ quality of art occupying space and time.
My interaction with material is dictated by the traits found in the material, how much can I lift, afford, store etc. The restrictions imposed upon the work inform its production and presentation. My works respond not only to site but also to conditions surrounding and supporting the production, arrangement, and takedown and storage of the work. The setting or context for my work is a rest or station for the material of the activities I undertake (a sculpture-body). This ‘station’ is not an end of the work; it is the presentation of the synthesis of the operation of my work within time.
Defusing, using Lucy as an example, the centralized body of a traditional sculpture can be achieved by the repetition of form and the material being rolled or unrolled, or folded, or propped. Such an activity allows the sculpture to sustain malleability of form. Work that is malleable and modulated in form moves as a participant in time and up holds my idea of non-static object based discipline.