1620 Cubic-Feet (2006)
Plastic sheet, packing tape, vacuum motor, hose.
(72 x 72 x 540 inches)
This project was an exercise in the use of plastic and inflatable materials. The volume, six feet long and wide, and forty-five feet tall, exactly fits the dimensions of the void created in the center of the spiral staircase. Because the plastic was not rigid, as air filled the volume, it flexed around the wooden stairwell's railings and into the stairwell itself as if spilling over or pressing into a separate void-space. The column of plastic also bent over when it reached the top of the room, unable to sustain its own weight without the support of the surrounding staircase. This bend in the form, however, allowed a shift in perception for the viewer from focusing on the interior of the piece as a contained volume (middle of the stairwell) to viewing the piece as a object in itself (top of the stairwell). The object is kept inflated by a constantly-running vacuum motor. At the same time an exhaust tube allows air to flow out of the piece to prevent over-pressurization. Thus, the entire work is constantly inhaling, operating in real time.
