Dichotomy ( set 1 )
I have given the title ‘Dichotomy’ to these two sculptural pieces, created for Central St Martin’s MA 1st Year interim show, In-Transit
The word comes from the Greek – dich: which means ‘in two'; a splitting of a whole into exactly two parts, and tomia: the cutting, incision or excision of an object. The word is now commonly used to mean a division of two directly opposite or entirely different things.
My new work is concerned with ‘dichotomy’ in both its ancient and contemporary definitions. I experimented by cutting everyday objects in half to search for unexpected patterns and structures.
Recently I moved from the countryside to the city. The change in landscape did not change my modus operandi. I continue to look for patterns and hidden structures in objects in my environment; seeds dispersed in the wind, food packaging discarded on the pavement.
The detail that I am fascinated by is everywhere. For this work I dissect man-made, mass produced objects in order to witness the ingenuity of their design and function.
The similarities between the natural and artificial are usually easy to see, the dichotomies less so. Nature has a long-term plan and a long-term purpose. Human patterns of consumption and waste appear to have no such regard for the future. Plastic containers dumped on the street have lost their plan and their purpose.
I retrieved and use these items in my constructed of this work, giving them a new plan and purpose. The obsolete object is redeemed; its forgotten functional role replaced by a brand-new aesthetic role. However its past remains visible in its form and so we’re reminded of the many millions of identical objects thrown away that are forgotten, never to enter our consciousness again.
