Proverbs
Shown at: ‘Surjection’, Art Gallery of York University, Toronto (2011) | ‘Lado A Lado (India – Side by Side)’, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (2012)
Cured MDF, LED lights, wooden frame, lighting sequencer
MONEY TALKS BUT DOES NOT REMEMBER
TIME STOPS BUT DOES NOT DIE
POWER SURGES BUT DOES NOT ENDURE
MEMORY FADES BUT DOES NOT FORGIVE
LAUGHTER ECHOES BUT DOES NOT ANSWER
EMOTIONS SURGE BUT DO NOT COUNT
Proverbs is a series of textual sculptures that express a set of ambiguities about transactions and relationships. Money, Power, Time, Emotion, Regret, Laughter, Memory are the first set of key concepts. These are the scaffolding on which a set of concrete thoughts is built, which, like proverbs, can act as the currency of conversation. Each proverb is a frieze made out of text incised on to a horizontal plane. The proverbs are activated by fluctuations of an electrical signal that illuminate different configurations of the words in the text. Each configuration yields a terse new sense, sometimes contrarian, sometimes tangential, always precise. Light dances across the words, the proverbs change, meaning multiplies.