You See AC combines the formal language of the decorative arts and industrial metalwork with experimental enameling techniques to address contemporary issues of air quality and global warming.
As a transplant, I have often wondered at those who chose to settle in Texas prior to the advent of air conditioning. From vent covers to the air-expelling pipes that we plumb into our roofs, I am attracted to these metal forms and the stories they tell about how buildings breathe. I love the geometric simplicity and modularity of ductwork. I am particularly interested in ventilation’s expression as a form of invisible industrial craft that is woven into the fabric of domestic and professional spaces in the guise of louvered vents and diffusers.
Many of the finished works are presented in the format of garnitures. These sets of decorative accessories were typically comprised of imported porcelain or artful bronze work and were popular from the seventeenth century onward. Typically displayed on mantlepieces, they reflected the owner’s taste and wealth. Because the rooftop objects remind me of vessel forms, their enameled surfaces are inspired by different ceramic finishes I have seen in museums. As climate change brings increasingly severe weather, control of one’s domestic comfort is likely to become a luxury commodity.
As my work continues to explore the modern phenomenon of artificial cooling, it has led to questions about our relationship to air itself. Now in the age of an airborne pandemic, this is an even more complicated subject. I hope that this body of work will bring some of that complicated relationship to the fore as I continue to research, explore and create.