Scale
Paul Edmunds
27 October - 20 November 20, 1999
Mark Coetzee Fine Art Cabinet, Cape Town
The body of work examines the notion of scale. How does a sense of scale affect the way in which we engage or interact with the world? What informs this sense of scale?
The materials I have chosen are primarily objects of convenience, used once and then abandoned. They have a built-in redundancy. I take the position that these objects are created this way as a function of our human scale. We don't entertain any ideas about the origins of their constituent materials nor any concern for their destiny. They are only valuable insofar as they help us to accomplish a task as easily as possible. My work interrupts that process, making room for both an awareness and a slight discomfort in that space. I deliberately re-use discarded objects of expedience in a way that is clearly inconvenient.
The images with which I work are deliberately non-specific but multi-referential. They resemble processes and systems, but don't betray a sense of scale or a particular source. A texture or pattern could resemble the aged contortions of rock or the short-lived complexities of a cloud. The scale shifts illusively from the microscopic to the cosmic. Order and chaos interchange at different levels, producing shifts of scale.
ARTIST
Cardinal, 1999, Pins, polyurethane foam, Diameter 15cm
Kernel, 1995 - 1999, Plastic bottle sealing strips, wire, Diameter 35cm
Fold, 1999, Cable ties, 215 X 140 X 114cm