Unforgiving Love
2023found tree branches, 120 grit sand paper, kinetic mechanism, motors, electronics, custom code
Exhibited at Grass Grows in the Icebox
Soft Projects Gallery, Ypsilanti MI
Curator: Nathan Byrne
In this kinetic installation a tree branch is pulled back and forth across an abrasive surface. As it moves, the tree branch disintegrates, turning into dust and leaving a trail of its remnants.
In this show, I wanted to explore how we conceptualize the idea of nature. What is the natural state of things? Is there a visible line dividing natural and artificial? Why do we consider “natural” to be an agreeable state? Nature is chaotic, unrelenting and even apathetic. Things break down, fall apart, and die. Nature marches on, evolving with or without us. On the one hand, we are very much part of nature, but on the other we have the ability to affect nature in drastic ways. How do we make sense of this paradoxical relationship?
Photos by Nick Azzaro