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Creative Research Lab

Plots and Schemes - April 2005

sculptural installation by Richardson

Lynn Richardson
Red State , 2005
vinyl, nylon, steel, lights
approx. 17' x 22' x 17' h

With each technological step forward there seems to be a corresponding slip backward in the struggle to preserve our fragile habitat. One by one ecosystems fragmented by ruthless industrial agenda fail in their capacity to support life. Through the exploration of contemporary images and architectural representation a hybrid of new images are built. Contemporary consumer icons, logos, corporate-like symbols inhabit my version of strip-mall architecture where goods await the masses who will consume them. We continually exploit our physical world, pushing the limits through our use of technology, neglecting to see the devestating long-term effects it will have on our environment.

Currently working on a larger scale, I have begun to explore the significance of scale, particularly in placing my work in actual architectural contexts. There is now less emphasis on play-like interaction in the hope that the viewer, confronted head-on by the massive physicality of the sculptural work looming before them, will experience a physical/emotional response. The interactive element is still intended to encourage the viewer to participate, manipulate and hopefully contemplate. the sounds and actions generated by my sculpture engage the senses and even memory, adding layers of sensory experience. The modular elements continue to be the fundamental metaphor for my expression of contained, controlled western industrial society. The work does not moralize or point a finger. Rather, it tries to communicate what I see as the consequences of the changes we have all set in motion. The work is intended to be playful, even humorous, in order to soften the hard reality of the underlying message.

Recently I have started a new work which investigates minimalist conventions such as repetition and the grid as a way of subverting accepted visual strategies in which ordering of form and related human activity creates what is often a false sense of security. This work delves into our technological progression regarding the urban landscape, combined with a low tech physicality, implying that all systems can be disrupted.