Biomorphic Landscapes | Lyndsay McKay
Artist Statement | Lyndsay McKay
Drawing in part, from experiences as a practicing nurse, this body of work explores ways of transforming materials into a gestalt of cellular viscerality – a series of “biomorphic landscapes”, evocative of pathogenic growths, bacterial organisms and marine life. The interstitial spaces become maze-like canals, in a hint toward cardiovascularity and an internal system of highways which carry the regard for vitality and breath; and perhaps a reminder of our own primordial crawl from water. Of further interest, are concepts surrounding the post-human realm, a biologization of the machine and an exploration of how the intersection of biology, architecture and industry can reimagine life on cellular and subcellular levels – thus mapping the constantly evolving dependencies that exist between objects, bodies and environments.
Each latex cell in this work is handheld in place until injected plaster takes shape and hardens within. One fragment relies on the next in order to maintain its strength in position and growth. My own body, my hands and my gesture places each component intuitively. Through this work, I become both factory and machine. I become the biology – inherent and imagined. I become evidence of embodied thought and systematic organization. I become the power plant, the big corporation and the top tier of the hierarchy within a journey of personal insistence over all mechanisms of control, guiding the pattern as it continues to emerge in an empowered and methodical dance.
Over time however, latex becomes thin and fragile. Like waring skin, it begins tear open and fold. The material’s inevitable dehiscence soon exposes its underlying tortured forms; brittle plaster and empty pores, fingerprinted with the notion of memory – powerful traces of time and place – grounded in its own historical precedence and carrying the ephemeral qualities of dust and bone. I am forced to face the reality of the catastrophic moment; the possibility of a landscape without order, without abundance, without personhood or leisure. I am forced to accept an awareness that this may be an accurate depiction of what life already is.
The Vernacular of Construction | Kira Pratt
Kira Pratt’s practice engages with the material history of urban environments, the affect of perpetual renovation and the creation of new spaces via corporate or individual means. Provisional structures, whether made professionally or by amateur builders, are temporary constructions based on functionality over aesthetics. Not commonly considered is the bodily response to existing within close proximity to temporary constructions. It is an uneasiness, a flux, a low anxious hum. The best example of this uneasiness is in how space is partitioned; preliminary fences and dividers prepare a space for what is to come. The space’s current condition is deemed inadequate by the temporary boundaries and a utopic structure can be imagined in its place. Adding to the uneasiness, these divisions lead to the privatization of something once considered public domain; be it a curb-side garden or a vacant lot.
Using concrete, wood, rope and paint skin tarps, the resulting works are translations of these utilitarian structures. Emulating their outside counterparts, the sculptures appear utilitarian but have no distinguishable purpose and through their short stature require attention and caution from the viewer. Both sides of the used ropes can be accessed, leading to multiple unknown futures. It may invite or discourage crossing over, blurring the lines of conventional boundaries.
@kirabratt
