Magdolene Dykstra: Microbial, 2020-2023
Using sculpture and installation, my Microbial Series uses an aesthetic of cellular proliferation to visualize the human species as an interconnected organism. This body of work is grounded in research into sublime philosophy. The root of the sublime experience is found in a sense of amazement and is often linked to fear of something beyond our understanding or control. In contrast to the Romantic artists of the 19th century, who located the sublime in grand landscapes, I locate the sublime in our complex interconnectedness to other humans and more-than-humans around the world. My sculptures and installations examine the power of the small when gathered into intricate ecosystems. By creating visual experiences of our interconnectedness to each other, I disrupt the fantasy of an independent self.
I compose these works using primarily unfired clay accompanied by supporting materials, including wood and fiber. This imparts each object with precarity and the capacity for reformation while considering the sustainability of my practice. Clay has been linked to the human species since it emerged and bears the memory of the earliest artists, offering a connection to human and non-human bodies across time and space. This work explores the tension between individuality and collectivity, visibility and anonymity, impermanence and the embedded potential for transformation.
Existing along a spectrum of becoming and undoing, my work reflects on the transience of our collective existence, full of the potential for continual change. Working with unfired clay allows me to create temporary structures which are ultimately dismantled, and the materials reused in new configurations. My methods are accretive, slowly building up impermanent formations that will be undone over time. In this way, each of my works exist as a momentary pause in a never-ending cycle of emergence and decay, allowing for endless exploration of various systems of relation.
Captions
- Polyanthroponemia, 2020, site-specific installation at the Gardiner Museum, unfired clay and mixed media, 16ft x 35ft x 15in, Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid
- Framed Landscape, 2021, unfired clay and mixed media, 36in x 36in x 72in
- Column, 2023, unfired clay and mixed media, 108in x 18in x 18in
- Leaning Column, 2023, unfired clay and mixed media, 108in x 18in x 18in
- Fallen Column, 2023, unfired clay and mixed media, 18in x 108in x 18in
