From The Axis Vault
State of Matter: The Weight of Modern Existence
This installation confronts the specific anxieties and paradoxes of modern existence—a life lived simultaneously in the physical realm of touch and gravity, and the simulated, weightless sphere of digital experience. By transforming abstract energy into tangible, monumental mass, the artist challenges the contemporary devaluation of the real, the raw, and the persistent.
The Digital Disembodiment
In an era defined by digital abstraction, where selfhood is increasingly mediated through screens and filtered images, J’s sculptures demand a return to corporeality.
The forms, characterized by their immense physical weight and rough, pockmarked surfaces, resist the smooth, perfected aesthetic of the digital age. They are reminders that the body is inherently messy, subject to decay, and marked by time—a direct counterpoint to the ephemeral, endlessly editable self presented online.
The raw, visceral reds and earthy browns emphasize our biological roots, serving as an antidote to the perceived weightlessness of modern life, where labor and connection often occur without tangible physical output.
The Fracture of Modern Identity
The sculptures’ fragmented, clashing compositions—especially the juxtaposition of the rough, chaotic ceramic mass with the stark, cold purity of the marble-like segments—reflect the fractured modern identity.
The monumental forms embody the tension between our primal, subconscious self (the volcanic, molten clay) and the hyper-rational, organized persona required for navigating complex technological societies (the angular, white elements).
The installation suggests that the modern self is not whole, but a constant, uneasy negotiation between these elemental forces, resulting in an existence that feels simultaneously heavy with anxiety and lacking in solid ground.
Enduring the Information Flood
Ultimately, State of Matter serves as a sanctuary of endurance against the relentless flow of modern information and obsolescence. While technology seeks to constantly replace and update, these sculptures are built to survive. Their ceramic and stone nature signifies deep time.
They ask: What endures when everything is fluid? The answer, J suggests, is the stubborn, undeniable fact of matter—the enduring physical reality of the earth and the body, which persists long after the last digital feed goes dark.
