Remainder
2021 / Ceramic, copper, glass, pewter, and wood with sand. Vessels from the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum, originating from 4 continents and spanning 400 years / 2’ x 25’
On view as part of the show Lenka Clayton, Comedy & Tragedy at Mount Holyoke Art Museum, South Hadley, MA. September 2021 - June 2022
A graduated sequence of containers stretches into the distance. All but the largest vessel are encircled by halos of black sand, vestiges of a repeated action that reanimates these objects. The arrangement was created by pouring sand from the largest vessel into the adjacent smaller one, an action repeated 20 times. The halo of sand at the bottom of each is the literal remainder of that which could not be contained. Remainder is the culmination of a process of acknowledging forgotten and lost contexts and the human beings that animated these spaces and used these vessels. The progression of spilt sand marks the passage of both motion and time and the loss (and renewal) of intended purpose.
Visit Mount Holyoke Art Museum for details.