Frequently occupying the space between employee and child, I remember standing shoulder to shoulder with old two-by-four studs, watching my father awaken the bones of our home. His shadow darting this way and that through hot yellow halogen light. These moments, at once normal and mythical, helped create powerful impressions and a reverence for the shaping of objects, stories, and spaces; for the shaping of otherwise silent things.
Rites of Passageis a body of work about origin, value, and a slow awakening of material sensibilities. It is about the intimacy of a knife handle worn glossy and smooth by my great grandfather’s hands, and about the clink-clink-clink of a claw hammer keeping time in a tool belt holster. Each sculpture or installation cites moments of discovery, lessons passed through time by word of mouth or work of hands.
I grew up around the insides of things; spaces under, between, or just beneath the surface. In altering the form and iconic placement of these objects, attention is given to the narrative qualities and tactile nature of learning through doing. Each piece functions, much like the objects they are crafted from, as a place to pause, to pay attention. A desk is not the end of the journey, it’s often not even the beginning. Each piece is merely a chapter in a greater story; a space to teach, to listen, to be taught. This body of work explores the intent of education. In a more universal sense, what we think of as “lessons” are often incremental rites of passage.
Below are the pages from the book “I”VE TAUGHT YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW AND YOU STILL DON”T KNOW ANYTHING”
Reduction print with school desktop.
More information and a video on this project can be found Here.
