CHANCE SHERMET he/him
Mountain No. 2 / 2023 / River pebble, plywood, stainless steel mesh, cotton fabric, grout, steel, LED components / 34.5 x 35.5 x 160 cm
Mountain No. 2 is created using river pebbles applied to a form reminiscent of a stalagmite mineral deposit growing from the ground. Borrowing from aesthetics of “pebbledashing” used on exterior of houses and buildings, each stone is both remarkable as a formation of minerals over immense periods of time, but simultaneously an ordinary fragment of aggregate or material that might be molded into our built environment. This sculpture was originally made with an aluminum mesh and polyester fabric, however it has been reworked over the last year and may incorporate resin onto the mesh in lieu of fabric.
This was a part of a project called Building Mass with a Grain of Sand from 2023. Conceptually, the project explores the realm of natural resource extraction as well as an ambiguous idea of resources, plotting along a spectrum of tiny or vast, individual and collective, and abundant versus scarce. Connecting these diverse ideas of resources, whether Natural “materials” from the Earth or the labour and skill of us as people, there are references to measuring, extracting and industry, and wealth, class and greed.
Bio
Chance’s work draws from morphing material culture, ecological intelligence and natural phenomena. Working primarily in natural mediums like wood, stone, eggshell and metal, he creates objects existing in the space between sculpture and function, with a reverence for craft.
Using objects and materials as a lens to investigate the dynamic relationship between people, place, and the constructed and natural environments, he reimagines objects as symbolic or metaphorical to engage with social, existential and ecological ideas.
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