PERMANENT TRANSIENCE | PARRISH ROAD SHOW | MARDERS | 2016 – 2017

PERMANENT TRANSIENCE, 2016

a site-responsive installation; hay, metal armatures, ground cover; 11 ft H x 52 ft D on view summer, 2016 through the spring of 2017 at Marders Nursery, Bridgehampton, NY

The Parrish Road Show, Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY

ARTIST STATEMENT

I have long been drawn to the energy of the meandering and soulful hay bale wall and the three immense boulders placed opposite it on location at Marders’ Bridgehampton property. They are both explosive and at the same time contained, each clearly affected by the passage of time. The wave-like patterns created in the process of baling the hay are rhythmic. This controlled chaos contrasts the solidity of the boulders, creating a compelling interplay of opposites.
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My project, Permanent Transience, addresses a schism between this sort of chaos and control. In it, large cubes constructed of straw bales will circumscribe the periphery of each of the three boulders on site. In doing so, the nature of each of the elements will be altered – the straw will defy its natural tendency toward randomness, becoming rigid; the stone will flow forth as if emerging from the interior. This interplay also addresses a recurring theme in my work – what can and cannot be seen.

Toni Ross, 2016