Head Space: "6.5 billion gains of sand"

This was a show of instillation that I did in October. The idea for the instillation started while I was in Denver this past summer. I was laying on a hammock in my aunt's backyard soaking in the sun. For some strange reason while I was drifting in and out of lucidity I felt very isolated. I felt very small in the world. I wondered if it had to do with my surroundings. The massive expanse of blue sky in Colorado or the front range of the Rockies which loomed over head. Perhaps the space in-between these objects is what made me feel so little in such a big place. The relation of and size of these objects is what is so indescribable. This consciousness lead me to another line of thinking. I realized I was anything but alone. I thought about the massive amount of humanity that exists on the face of the earth. 6.5 billion was the last number I had been quoted. And even though I couldn't hear or see another person I still felt an overwhelming weight of presence. It was an odd dicotomy. Completely alone yet completely surround at the same time. This duality is what led to the creation of my piece in "headspace". The show of instillation took place in October of this year. Through many iterations of what the piece could look like I decided to use sand. The first idea was to use dots of ink on paper but the shear amount of ink and paper needed to produce 6.5 billion dots would cost somewhere near $25,000. I should have guessed even before I did the calculation seeing that printer ink is the most expensive liquid in the world. It was great to have chemical engineer with 30 years of experience making calculations and a Doctor of physics at my disposal at the time to brainstorm ideas. Most of the time I was told the ideas were too impractical or expensive. My sister was the one to suggest sand as my medium. And as I had help making the calculation I came to the conclusion that I would only need around 3/4 of a ton of sand to produce an approximation of 6.5 billion grains. And fortunately for me the cost of "playground sand" is quite cheap. It was however another story trying to put that much sand in a room that was about 20'x20' three floors up. But as I brainstormed with my classmates they suggested that putting sand in a room wasn't enough. I needed to explain the dichotomy. I decided that casting myself in plaster representing the loneliness might capture the concept. I used dental alginate to make finely detailed molds and traditional plaster to cast the molds. I made casts of my face, hands, feet, and belly. And I placed these molds in the sand in such a way that it appeared as though I was floating in the sea of sand. Each grain representing a person on earth and the casts representing myself. In the end people attending the show entered the room and moved the casts. This was an element that I had no control over. I was fairly indifferent to this happening because it meant that there was an element of interaction with the instillation. Originally I intended that no one enter the which is why I place a piece of clear plexi-glass in front of the instillation in the door jam. When all was said and done I felt that I had executed my concept to its fullest potential with the limitations that I had. Of course I would change things if I had to do all over again. But in life nothing is perfect and I try to embrace imperfection as much as I can. Because imperfection can be quite beautiful. And it is after-all part of the human condition. And I was happy because I had some kind of visualization of what humanity.

JG

Credits for the photos go to Mr. Mark Byron photographer extraordinaire. Check out his website and for goodness sake contact him if you need some photo work done. Apparently it's in his blood. http://www.byronphoto.com/

Credit for the creation of the flyer for the show goes to Mr. Matt Lynch professor extraordinaire. Read about some of the connections Matt has here http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/0406collectives.aspx. And google him for goodness sake.