Spectral Device, 2024
Glass, Aluminum, Hxtal, Photocopy
Glass is a technology historically deployed to deceptive ends. In ancient Mesopotamia, it was used to fool and impress the elite by masquerading as precious stones while today ultra clear glass windows made of pure quartz silica create a seamless connection to the outside world, insulating the wealthy from its increasing harms. In Duchamp’s Paris Air, an artwork that operates on a molecular level, the glass is cleverly “invisible”. Throughout the evolution of glass, it became increasingly transparent and, in step with most consumer products, the origins and methods of production became opaque. In Spectral Device, I experiment with glass on a chemical level by using a recipe that omits a key ingredient in glass to generate a “window” that begins to break down when exposed to oxygen. By implementing a window that is designed to fail, I hope to expose the myth of material neutrality to begin a discussion about the history and consequence of glass extraction, production, and use.