microcosms cairns crabs taxonomies and ruins

Microcosms, Cairns, Crabs, Taxonomies, and Ruins

2017 - 2020

Polystyrene, mixed media

A body of work produced from detritus found mainly along New York City shorelines. The project began during a year long, 2017-2018 residency at Chico MacMurtrie’s Robotic Church in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The sculptures and sculptural performances documented below inspired my solo exhibition Slit - Silt in 2019. I halted all kinetic components of the project in 2018 after learning how rapidly these sculptures were shedding microplastics into their immediate environments. I also noticed the effects of working with microplastics on my skin to be really quite terrible. More recently, I produced Preservation Scapes in partial consideration of these two facts.

Microcosm Taxonomy with a Ying-Yang Stone

2020

Polystyrene, Bristle-Bots, Ink, Pine, Granite stone

Styro-stone bots from Microcosm Beta (below) mounted in a permanent taxonomy for private collectors in Chicago. Each bot is labeled with its date of finding and material composition.

Microcosm Beta

2018

Polystyrene, Bristle-Bots, Steel enclosure

These two videos show one hundred and fifty “styro stone bots” in a court as installed for Re-Art Show 21: This Is Not Here in the Spring of 2018. During the show I realized that as the bots continually collide and rub they produce the same micro-plastic silt that is quickly saturating the entire planet. This fact is documented by the image below and is the reason I halted all kinetic components of the project.