aluminum, concrete, plaster, wax, wood
54”x8”x0.75”
2023
Existential stretches across the gallery floor, a wall constructed of interconnected bricks of five different materials. The wall stands unassuming but present, quiet yet occupying. Each brick represents one billion people, with all 117 bricks working together to represent the history of humanity. Stretching from 190,000 B.C.E. to 2023, the bricks are divided into six periods with distinct materials and quantities. Through materials and the use of data, Existential becomes an analytical visualization of the span of humankind. The theme of interconnectedness and similarity arises through the interlocking brick design. The different materials provide data and contrast between each time period and the uniformity of the bricks. Using a small scale, Existential invites the concept of imagination and reflection on individuality, uniformity, achievement, space, and time. Each viewer can find themselves in the wall- as a small volume of material surrounded by strangers squished into a single brick. Existential uses a simple but symbolic design system to provoke thought on the vastness of the past, the parallels of the present, and the possibilities of the future. One starts to wonder about the relationship between the infinite and infinitesimal, and where we all each fit into it.
52nd MSU Student Juried Show Fine Art Honorable Mention