Sum: A Critical Inquiry Into The Material Agency of Oil (2014)
In collaboration with Olivier Albaracin, David Clark, Norsola Johnson & Nadim Zaidi
Programming, Projection & Interaction Design by Nima Navab
Sum is an installation serving as a critical inquiry into the material agency of oil, its rebirth as plastic, and the evolving role that plastics play in ecological systems. At the heart of the work is the consideration of oil and plastic as being two ontological aspects of the same present. Oil is bound to geological strata and history whereas plastic is free from terrestrial restrictions. Plastic can be anywhere and take any form, even that of life, as plastic particles find their way into the food chain. In this way, Sum confronts issues of embodiment, experience, and materiality with regard to the sociopolitical boundaries that are arbitrarily drawn between oil and plastic. The ideological framework of Sum is rooted in Félix Guattari’s consideration of ecology as a complex system which integrates material, social, and mental modes of existence. Guattari’s ecosophy considers an environmental perspective with no distinct lines between human and nonhuman systems. Beyond communicating a notion of ecosophy, the work references Jane Bennett’s book, “Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things” insofar as it questions the province of humans in the material evolution of the earth.
Sum is a performative environment that utilizing multiple sensory stimuli to communicate a poetic connection between oil, plastic, and performers in the space. The work will confuse the boundary between the performance of guests and the performance of the materials represented within the space. Specifically, real time audio and video techniques are used, along Conwith the delivery of scents, to develop a gestural relationship between the space and the movements of the performers.
Programming, Projection & Interaction Design by Nima Navab
Sum is an installation serving as a critical inquiry into the material agency of oil, its rebirth as plastic, and the evolving role that plastics play in ecological systems. At the heart of the work is the consideration of oil and plastic as being two ontological aspects of the same present. Oil is bound to geological strata and history whereas plastic is free from terrestrial restrictions. Plastic can be anywhere and take any form, even that of life, as plastic particles find their way into the food chain. In this way, Sum confronts issues of embodiment, experience, and materiality with regard to the sociopolitical boundaries that are arbitrarily drawn between oil and plastic. The ideological framework of Sum is rooted in Félix Guattari’s consideration of ecology as a complex system which integrates material, social, and mental modes of existence. Guattari’s ecosophy considers an environmental perspective with no distinct lines between human and nonhuman systems. Beyond communicating a notion of ecosophy, the work references Jane Bennett’s book, “Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things” insofar as it questions the province of humans in the material evolution of the earth.
Sum is a performative environment that utilizing multiple sensory stimuli to communicate a poetic connection between oil, plastic, and performers in the space. The work will confuse the boundary between the performance of guests and the performance of the materials represented within the space. Specifically, real time audio and video techniques are used, along Conwith the delivery of scents, to develop a gestural relationship between the space and the movements of the performers.
