TIMEFORMS, sculpture series, studio shots

Timeforms

Partially exhibited in a group show at Gr_und, Berlin
May 19 – June 21, 2017

In a mechanised society, where advances in technology are increasingly rendering human beings obsolete, the sculpture series ‘Timeforms’ looks at the relationship between human and machine to ask whether humans can empathise with such taciturn objects. As with our own bodily processes, these mechanized forms have self-driven systems that are both fragile and fallible, that could tumble, crack or dissolve at any minute.

Early Depictions of Modern Man (2017) comprises a similarly sterile frame and is made of exactly the same materials as used by Palaeolithic artist. The mustiness of charcoal combines with the chalkiness of calcium and iron oxide’s deep orange brown. Tentatively mounted within is a delicate glass panel, the abstract composition’s powdery substances has been systematically layered. These elements make up the ingredients found within all human beings, completed by the adjacent water cycle that continually leaks and dissolves.

A gentle but audible hissing quietly emanates from Just Anyone (2017), which utilises industrial materials such as steel, brick and copper piping. Water regularly drips onto a scolding-hot surface, rapidly bubbling, evaporating and leaving behind a pale white residue. Seemingly mechanical or functional, the viewer’s eye travels from its coiled plug towards the water’s source at the ceiling, and yet this pipe actually connects to nothing – an upright autonomous form.