Fireside Divide: Urb/Suburb
2003; Pierro Gallery of South Orange, South Orange NJ
Digital print, wood, conduit, orange mesh
108 x 96 x 48"
The installation created for this show leans against the fireplace in the gallery. Leaning the materials against the fireplace acknowledges the common identification of architectural structure (in this case both the gallery/house and the built art structure - and the body; the fireplace as "hearth" being symbolically the center of the dwelling, as the heart and the digestive tract are the center of the body.
Under the slatted lean-to structure is a rough image of a city - which is the immediate city, the city carried inside the human, and the city inside the world. Above the mantel extending to the ceiling and the length of the mantel is an enlarged snapshot of the fields directly behind the gallery. Through this photo and the wood block city below, the installation brings together two diverse worlds and joins them - asking a question about their disparity, and leaving each their distinct impress in tact.
Under the slatted lean-to structure is a rough image of a city - which is the immediate city, the city carried inside the human, and the city inside the world. Above the mantel extending to the ceiling and the length of the mantel is an enlarged snapshot of the fields directly behind the gallery. Through this photo and the wood block city below, the installation brings together two diverse worlds and joins them - asking a question about their disparity, and leaving each their distinct impress in tact.
All images © Elizabeth Riley 2024