high voltage discharges - electrons surging into material samples, racing through atoms and molecules, across metallic lattices, crystal planes, in and out of organic growth rings - traversing internal structures and landscapes of matter. as they reach an edge the electrons launch outward, flicking bright streams of photons off gases in the air, directly exposing photographic film, to reveal internal geometries of the solid world.
the collection below looks at 81 different materials, each as a 3cm round disc. from concrete and silk, to gold, hair, glass, seaweed, and steel, the way each unique material is experienced by electricity reveals a fundamentally alien understanding of the world - touching on the experience of what it is like to be electric. using audio-rate high voltage, each material’s capacitative nature is explored alongside their conductive and inductive characters, adding alternate perspectives to our understanding of their internal structures and qualities.
the full study is collected in the matter exhibition catalogue pdf (188 pages, 10mb).
this collection is centred around an energetic deconstruction of my family home, which i lived in with my grandmother as a full-time carer. to help me deal with the end of that, i bought an old x-ray machine and scanned large chunks of the house, sent high voltages though dusty old heirlooms, magnetised kitchen knives, and set up a diy laser interferometer to analyse my grandmother’s last recorded words as i bounced them across the bathroom mirror she had brushed her hair in every morning…. with a recently completed fine arts phd and nowhere else to vent my conceptual rage and despair, the result is obvious.
the full study is collected in the suburban spirits exhibition catalogue pdf (36 pages 4mb).
these images look into the structure of several important mineral ores which are the foundation of industry, including local uraninite, a sample of which was displayed alongside the image, in a backlit lead-glass box during exhibition….
this first work explores 14 different materials - in the form of a simple wedding band - from gold and meteorite, to bone and hair. this was exhibited as part of the inaugural ngv triennial in 2017 where they even sold spark-printed t-shirt merch….
