Detritus

An artificial, continuously changing environment based on trash, salt, human will, and hot water bathing. The piece consists of a few tons of salt and a mechanism suspended by four cables. By varying the length of the four cables, the mechanism can be positioned in most locations within the room. The mechanism can extrude crude representations of average objects from salt. These objects can be things like old chairs, toilets, tires, washing machines, and many other human-specific objects we take for granted as part of our world. The viewer was able to view these objects being created from the comfort of a hot water tub.

As a collective species, we continually reshape our world to suit our needs. We are filling it with things that are important and meaningful to us. While we strive for permanence, thankfully, the mechanisms that govern the universe beg to differ. The things we create are not permanent, and forces beyond our control constantly simplify the complex objects we devote ourselves to. This piece is a reflection of that process, abstracted and combined with geological processes. Things will appear that resemble familiar objects, but due to the fragility of the salt crystals used to create the piece, they will deteriorate at the same rate as they are formed.

The piece attempts to create a vantage point that is impossible in the real world—a vantage point that both condenses and speeds up time, providing an abstract overview of the detritus we value.