Shaun Kardinal

Plexiglass (40 sheets, 8 x 8 x 1/8 inches) and lightbox. 10 x 10 x 7 inches. Collaboration with Troy Gua for 'Bloom & Collapse.'

A sculpture for the taking.

From the group exhibition statement: ‘Bloom & Collapse’ presents the collaborative work of seven pairs of artists who have come together to address concepts of decay, fragmentation and decomposition. Paired with my good friend Troy Gua, with whom I’d collaborated once before, we knew a few things immediately: our work would be comprised of many pieces which would be free for the taking; the final output would bloom under our guidance and decay gracefully into the hands of many. Additionally, we wanted to address impermanence, artistic oeuvre, and a transition toward Light.

After a few rounds of preliminary sketches and planning, we arrived at this stacked pyramid approach, which merged Troy’s love of plastic sheen with my ever-increasing fondness for simple shapes made up of many carefully organized points. With the exception of the top piece, each of the 40 plexi sheets has four holes drilled into it. Stacked, a three-dimensional pyramid of light appears on the sides; viewed from above, a strangely refracted array of holes sway with the viewer, like the following eyes of a portrait.

Lastly, while installing, we shot a time-lapse-like series of photos to show how the sheets work with one another:

We are happy to report that all 40 sheets were taken during the exhibition’s opening reception.

‘Bloom & Collapse’ shows at SOIL Gallery through February, 2011. Visit troygua.com for more of Troy’s work.

View work details »

One-take infinite make-out, created for the 2010 Seattle Erotic Art Festival.

Filmed through the viewfinder of Erin’s Hasselblad, we traded control of the shutter-release button. We loved how the released shutter masked the view, in direct opposition to the reveal it provides against film. While there were flaws in the first take–the camera shifts, the light changes drastically–we felt that the first take captured everything we’d hoped for, and more; these flaws were really just part of the whole and we welcomed them.

Displayed on a made-in-’85 motel TV, our video looped continuously throughout the festival.

Visit erinfrostphotography.com for more work by Erin.