nostalgia
[nggallery id=12] 1999 Drycleaner bags, steel wire, fishing line, motorized pulley (dimensions vary) Polyethylene sacks are attached to wire forms and suspended from the ceiling. Each is connected to a motorized pulley which yanks them rhythmically so that they jolt up, filling with air, then slowly deflate as they descend. Between Body and Soul, Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery, Montréal (1998); curators David Liss and Karen Antaki Space, Axe-NÉO-7, Hull, Quebec (1999)
Unititled (le mur qui respire/breathing wall)
[nggallery id=9] 1997 cast rubber latex, acrylic; fans, timer: 118 x 177 x 6 in /300 X 450 X 15 cm (remade 2010 in silicone) A membrane of cast rubber latex swells almost imperceptibly in and out, in a mechanical semblance of breathing. It mimics the surface of a wall with gyproc removed, its surface more like skin than paint. It is backlit in a softly lit room, giving it a film-like presence. The sound of the fans inflating and deflating is at first calming, but its robotic persistence eventually becomes menacing. Le mur qui respire, La Chambre blanche, Québec [...]
languor
[nggallery id=11] 1997 rubber latex, acrylic, plywood, lights, fans, timers, 96 X 96 X 10 in / 244 x 244 x 25 cm Three larger-than-human size forms lie on a wooden platform. Each inflates and deflates at 3-10 second intervals, gently rising and falling as though breathing. The rhythmic sound of the fans emphasizes the overall sensation of sleep. Each is lit from below. Low ambient lighting combined with the inflating movement can cause the illusion that they are nestled into the platform, or that the platform itself is moving. De Fougue et de passion, Musée d’art contemporain, Montréal (1997); [...]
over + fluff
[nggallery id=10] 1997 3000 plastic bags; steel wire; 4 photographs, each 21 X 24 in / 53 x 60 cm The installation is composed of two works which complement each other: over is made up of plastic grocery bags massed just overhead, across the entire gallery space. Each is filled with air, tied, and suspended with a coiled steel wire. They are lit only by the lights which illuminate fluff, a group of four photographs. over + fluff, Galerie articule, Montreal, 1997 (fluff, collection Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, exhibited 1999, 2001) installation photos: Paul Litherland