CELL SHADOWS
Exhibited
2022, Körperkammer (Body Chamber) Eisenwunderwelt, Poets Novella, Berlin, curated by Cristin Millet (Penn State University) , 8-22 September 2022.
Eisenwunderwelt is an interdisciplinary exhibition to the 9th International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art co-curated by Jenny Hillenbrand and Kristen Tordella-Williams featuring the collaborative efforts of over 65 international artists. The exhibition at the Moving Poets Novilla features indoor and outdoor installations using iron and the cabinet of curiosity as a central theme. Eisenwunderwelt sets the stage for artists to create interdisciplinary artworks together, bridging cultures and geo-political boundaries through shared creativity and passion.
“The work is a product of Exquisite Corpus, an international group of women artists from the U.S., Australia, Finland and England, which, through interdisciplinary collaboration, aims to “foster cross-cultural dialogue and bridge geo-political boundaries.”
“Körperkammer,” according to the artists’ statement, conceptualizes the body as a Wunderkammer that can be seen as a cabinet — a dynamic vessel to contain, house, protect, preserve, arrange and organize the objects within.
The Wunderkammer’s connection to, and dependence on, iron is explored through a conceptually linked collection of 2D, 3D and 4D specimens visually presented through the format of installation.”
Erica Seccombe, CELL SHADOW, 2022 (detail) Kinetic installation, rust, metal, motor, light.
Cell shadows explores the idea that our body consists of minerals that can be found in the outer reaches of the universe. The atoms of oxygen in our lungs, the carbon in our muscles, the calcium in our bones, and iron in our blood was created inside a star before Earth was formed. Suspended in space, these ‘blood cells’ cast shadows, as if we might be viewing them through X-ray imaging, to contemplate the complexity of life, and our bodily connection to the beginning of time itself.