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
