Interstitial Variations

INTERSTITIAL VARIATIONS

Lattice, 2013, 6 steel frame tetrahedrons, latex sheeting, h.4’ x w.4’ x d. 4’

Nodules, 2013, slip cast ceramic forms, h.4” x w.4” x d. 4”

I am increasingly aware of the elegant efficiency of nature and its system of minimum inventory/maximum diversity by which materials are tightly assembled and conserved for effective species survival.

Sourcing from an array of standardized geometric forms, nature generates an immense diversity of systems that are both efficient and self-maintaining. An elegant example of efficiency is the close-packed hexagonal form. Close-packed hexagonal forms are found everywhere; an organic example is a bee hive and an inorganic example is a Wurtzite crystal. My solo show, Interstitial Variations,  was based on the concept of minimum inventory/maximum diversity.  In this work, the modular shapes were based upon the Wurtzite crystal system. The completed sculptural forms focused on the fundamental shapes of this crystal. The modular system consists of a minimum inventory of hexagonal components that can be alternately combined to yield the widest variety of combinational forms.  Unlike the natural crystalline forms of the Wurtzite crystal, these forms imply a human intervention. The modules have been altered so that they do not fit together perfectly. The surface is smooth and skin-like. The shapes are scaled to fit in a hand but, when grouped, have mass and weight. Stacked in tall towers, they appear to be on the verge of falling. When stacked and grouped, there is wasted space between the modules. The skin like surface and the surplus of interstitial space is reflective of our species’ resistance to conservation of materials and energy.

Interstitial Variations was a turning point in my artistic practice because I utilized participation to help observers realize an underlying message about conservation. Participants were encouraged to rearrange a set of six tetrahedrons into their own personal design. The designs were photographed daily and exhibited within the gallery . This variety of designs demonstrated the organic and inorganic systems of minimal inventory and maximum variability.