Desperate Whispers is based on a need to establish a sense of connection beyond the human and a belief in the transformative potential of empathy. In the exhibition, I seek ways to engender felt experiences of fragility, tension and interconnection. By constructing interactive sculptures that enact small tragedies, pain, conflict and loss, I aim to foster empathic concern for the artworks as nonhuman, inanimate objects and, by extension, encourage a contemplation of human connection with others; both human and nonhuman. Using materials which are manufactured and sourced from sites of current human and environmental exploitation – such as cotton, glass beads, cut flowers, paper, wood and electronics – the exhibition consists of sculptures and installations, most of which function as participatory interactions and self-destruct when activated by the viewer’s presence.
body, ecology, fragility, interactivity, Johann van der Schijff, Masters fine art, materiality, nature, Quanta Gauld, technology, Virginia MacKenny
Artist: Quanta Gauld
Gallery: Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town
Catalogue presented as part of a MFA degree
Date: 2015
Pages: 44
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