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Suspended Object
Stop 15, Minors Marsh, Kentville June - October 2017 Uncommon Common Art Suspended Object is located in the natural and spectacular setting of Minors Marsh in the centre of Kentville as part of the Uncommon Common Art annual temporary art exhibition. Suspended from the bridge the objects become weightless, distorted, floating and dancing within space and time upon the reflection of the water below. In the metaphysical space where we have no term of reference, our understanding of these objects becomes distorted. This idea refers to memory, and how things fade over time and even something as seemingly solid as stone will change over geological time. According to poet Francis Ponge, ‘stone is the only thing in nature that constantly dies’. Whilst observing the suspended objects one becomes aware of the rushing movement of the river below, and become absorbed in the stillness and tranquility of the natural setting. Suspended Object is a temporary installation consisting of rusty objects found during my wanderings of Nova Scotia, combined with clay that has been made using the local Lanz soil. The objects are gripped, or are gripping these found objects that allows them to be suspended. The material used to suspend them is a strong nylon rope. Each object weights approximately 5 kg or 10 pounds.The assemblage of objects represents a metamorphic process where things transform from one state of being to another. The heavy physical objects are suspended by 'grips' that are made from tenuous materials ranging from thin strands of cotton, wire and nails, and rusty metal objects. Some of the objects have been fired and others have been left as raw clay, both of which will weather differently when exposed to the elements over the duration of the installation. I am fascinated to watch this process, as the weathering will expose parts of the installation that are currently hidden, revealing new insights, other parts will totally disappear, whilst others will remain solid. Perhaps too, new objects will be collected if the high tides of the river connect with the hanging ropes. The installation will continually change whilst it is exposed to the elements and the ebb and flow of the rising tides of the river. Some of the objects will return to the landscape through this weathering process : there is something poetic, beautiful and devastating as the sculptures return from where they began. Further links Uncommon Common Art |