Lost Machines is a body of work first exhibited in 2013. This work is a response to our current cultural climate that I see as a rich and complex tapestry of technological flux, environmental tension and a social awareness that is growing globally. Long-held structures within our culture are crumbling and transforming rapidly. The dominant paradigm is undergoing a shift and my work seeks to use these significant changes as the starting point for a visual dialog.
Within this project, I have mined the remnants and off-casts from highways as well as thrift shops, yard sales and junkyards in rural Ontario. A variety of sculptural materials are used, such as raw stainless steel, reclaimed plywood sheets, a rusted roofing vent, an outdoor loudspeaker and dozens of lighting fixtures. These materials often become surfaces to host lithographic activity; a busted hot rod car, a decrepit Wall Street sign and assorted junk found in ditches are brought into the dialog. Kinetic sculptures are often interactive and produce sounds, inviting the viewer to engage with the work in a direct, visceral way. With these pieces, I seek to expand the viewer’s experience by becoming an active participant in the work, engaging through sound and touch.
The show’s title, Lost Machines, suggests that the artwork takes on an anthropological nature, acting as a record of a particular time and place; certain structures of fuel and finance are on the verge of becoming outmoded and obsolete. At the same time, the work seeks to playfully dream about lost designs from another reality that weren’t quite right, yet are poetic and somewhat human in their tragic absurdity. Somewhere in the mix I hope that the viewer gains insight into our current trajectory or perhaps catch a glimpse into a hopeful reality to come.