Earlier this year, I responded to a call for exhibition proposals related to the theme of "Into the Wilderness". I'm not sure what happened first, the desire to create a large reef installation or this call for proposals, but the two seemed to unfold simultaneously. I had just begun a small sculpture made out of straws that were cut up and glued together like honeycomb. While making this straw piece, I thought of it as a work in itself, not as a miniature for a future installation.
After researching the location of the exhibition, San Pedro, CA, I realized the structure of a reef was crucial to the port city. The straw sculpture I had made began to feel like an unintentional maquette for this new project. I proposed to increase the scale of the work, and I had to choose a material with similar characteristics.
Being that my proposal commented on how personal indulgences contributed to the decline of critical environmental structures, such as reefs, I wanted to make this project completely recyclable. Every little thing needed to break down from this installation. I couldn't (morally) speak to an issue and then simply contribute to the same problem. This forced me away from plastic bottles. I proposed to create a sculptural coral reef out of leftover cylindrical toilet paper and paper towel rolls using a recyclable adhesive. Beyond the material constraints and overall reef form, I needed to set more limitations on the work. I decided to only use the rolls I would personally finish between the proposal acceptance date and the exhibition date.
I sent the email proposal off and waited anxiously for a reply.
After a couple of months, I heard back. My proposal had been chosen for a solo exhibition in the Project Space at the Angels Gate Cultural Center. There were 6 months until the show and the collection phase began immediately.
Being that my proposal commented on how personal indulgences contributed to the decline of critical environmental structures, such as reefs, I wanted to make this project completely recyclable. Every little thing needed to break down from this installation. I couldn't (morally) speak to an issue and then simply contribute to the same problem. This forced me away from plastic bottles. I proposed to create a sculptural coral reef out of leftover cylindrical toilet paper and paper towel rolls using a recyclable adhesive. Beyond the material constraints and overall reef form, I needed to set more limitations on the work. I decided to only use the rolls I would personally finish between the proposal acceptance date and the exhibition date.
I sent the email proposal off and waited anxiously for a reply.
After a couple of months, I heard back. My proposal had been chosen for a solo exhibition in the Project Space at the Angels Gate Cultural Center. There were 6 months until the show and the collection phase began immediately.
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