Writing machines

Puddle

IN TERMS OF: STATIC / EPHEMERAL (paper fortune teller machine)

The activity, resultant sculpture, and photograph are parts of an attempt to capture an ephemeral presence, that of a puddle formed after the rain. To do this, gelatin was dissolved into an existing rain puddle. After the puddle was somewhat solidified, it was scooped into a container, and later, poured onto a table. The use of gelatin changed the state of the water, but did so ambiguously, as the final form was something between a liquid and a solid. The sculpture itself was ephemeral, as it began to melt and as the water evaporated over time. The final incarnation of the work is a photograph of the reconstituted, re-formed puddle. This image provides a static representation of the original, ephemeral nature of the sculpture. While the photograph may visibly indicate the gelatinous and fragile nature of the puddle, the image itself is unchanging and creates a single framing through which to experience and read the new puddle.

IN THE CONTEXT OF: A HOLIDAY (metaphor machine)

This holiday is, perhaps, a short trip over a long weekend. It seems altogether too short, and slips away too quickly. The events and activities and time that pass disintegrate into one another, blurring experience with memory and prompting preemptive reminiscence. Perhaps the realization that time is passing too quickly heightens a desire to capture the moment and preserve the present through various reconstitutions of minute, temporal occurrences. Ultimately, the photographs after the fact can offer only glimpses of what has passed, what is past.