Black Forest - Site Statement
You are standing in front of 50,000 lbs of carbon that has been spread across the forest floor. Decades ago, this area was a gravel pit, and before that, it was logged and mined for coal. The topographical changes in this landscape were created by these industrial activities, so great in magnitude that they have wrought changes of geological significance. At some point in the distant past, this site was pristine wilderness.
Several months ago, this tonnage of carbon was living plant tissue. Trees were felled, and the wood was placed in kilns and preserved through carbonization. Whatever diverse materials constitute a tree have been driven out by fire, leaving behind this pure black residue: carbon, the foundation of every known life form. Only thousands of years from now, when this material has fully decomposed, will it re-enter the carbon cycle and be rendered animate once again.
Time is registered by the piece in long cycles. Imagine an archaeologist in the future uncovering the blackened soil strata, carbon dating it and attempting to understand its significance.
Time is registered by the piece in short cycles. The blackness simplifies the forest as a visual phenomenon, intensifying your spatial perception of the site. As you stand here, notice that the movement of objects is emphasized by the biochar. The amplification of movement notates the passage of time, as does the slow accumulation of debris atop the blackened groundplane. In this sense, the material is at once the subject of the artwork and its backdrop.
This piece repurposes “the outdoors” itself as a sculpture. It is an atmosphere, an emotional effect created through a magnitude of physical presence.
Several months ago, this tonnage of carbon was living plant tissue. Trees were felled, and the wood was placed in kilns and preserved through carbonization. Whatever diverse materials constitute a tree have been driven out by fire, leaving behind this pure black residue: carbon, the foundation of every known life form. Only thousands of years from now, when this material has fully decomposed, will it re-enter the carbon cycle and be rendered animate once again.
Time is registered by the piece in long cycles. Imagine an archaeologist in the future uncovering the blackened soil strata, carbon dating it and attempting to understand its significance.
Time is registered by the piece in short cycles. The blackness simplifies the forest as a visual phenomenon, intensifying your spatial perception of the site. As you stand here, notice that the movement of objects is emphasized by the biochar. The amplification of movement notates the passage of time, as does the slow accumulation of debris atop the blackened groundplane. In this sense, the material is at once the subject of the artwork and its backdrop.
This piece repurposes “the outdoors” itself as a sculpture. It is an atmosphere, an emotional effect created through a magnitude of physical presence.