Folding and Unfolding, Gallery 101, Ottawa (2003)

Upon entering the gallery viewers encounter a mass of suspended origami aircraft. Drawn from the Hiroshima memorial tradition of “Sadako and the 1000 Cranes”, this installation explores issues salient to another world altering episode, 9/11, and the subsequent build up to the invasion of Iraq that was concurrent to the making of this work. Theatrical lights and a video camera address the roles of the media and artifice. Upstairs, a second mass of folded paper objects –  envelopes marked by the date and a place, explore the passage of time, personal history, and privacy. A chaise invites viewers to sit and slyly observe the space bellow, continuing the discourse on trespass and invasion.

Materials

Downstairs: 1000 origami airplanes, theatrical lights, video camera, tripod, stands, caution tape.  Upstairs: chaise, TV monitor, surveillance equipment, envelopes, pins, mixed materials.