A city in the process of growing or decaying, covers the floor with a single path carved through. Matte grey concrete forms imprinted with the cellular pattern of styrofoam are arranged with clean white styrofoam itself clinging to the scale metropolis. The sleek lines of concrete and fragmentation of the styrofoam suggest two possible realities - the city being uncovered by the receding white or soon to be taken over completely as the styrofoam grows through the once thriving community. A revolving light focuses itself on the futuristic ruins by moving shadows like a sundial and accelerating the idea time with each rotation. On the walls are placed an array of circular kinetic works involving a textural surface with a single light source circling the texture. This creates a second and contrasting sense of time - the walls as one reality and the ground another.
Monuments and buildings made from concrete give the material a perceived importance. It’s understood that concrete is a product created to last a lifetime. With this notion comes stability and permanence. Alternatively, the physical qualities of styrofoam mimic the idea of worthlessness. Often placed as a humble, disposable, packing material, it is fragile and light. However, styrofoam has arguably more permanence than concrete, taking more than 1,000 years to biodegrade. Styrofoam remains one of the most prevalent visual representations of trash though concrete manufacturing is one of the leading causes of cO2 emission–atmospheric trash.The juxtaposition of the two materials illuminate simultaneously their contrasting qualities and their comparable ability to destroy.
The process begins with collecting styrofoam packing materials from local sources. Injection molded styro with crevices work as a readymade molds. Other forms of the material that do not have self contained portions can be built into mold boxes and even poured over with the concrete. Each new styrofoam form found in a dumpster introduces a new technique for best utilizing the resource. Once the forms are prepped, a cement is mixed very wet and poured into and over the styrofoam. When the casts are cured, a carving process reveals the grey surface under the fluffy white that clings to the sides. Removing a portion of the material can create the effect of a growing or melting mass on the concrete. The techniques used to create the styrofoam in the factory are prioritized for packaging efficiency, but when the negative of the form is cast, the sculptures take on the feeling of a futuristic scale city with the rounded corners and bulbous silhouette.
