All of the objects in this project were originally housed in a 4-drawer dresser. They had been stored away, stacked atop one another, dishevelled and unorganized. They lay in wait, hoping to be utilized, but as time passed many of the items became forgotten.
This grouping of everyday things has been amassed over the last five years and has moved with me to multiple residences. Collectively they shed a light on who I am, providing a portrait of attachment, waste, care and obsession. In my everyday life, I tend to hold onto and hoard random things whether out of sentimental value, for potential future projects or solely for their material or aesthetic qualities. This collection of items, the residue of my life, the objects stuck between a place of great prospected importance and utter disregard are what make up this plasticized quilt.
At the beginning of this process, when I first emptied out my dresser and saw all of the objects together for the first time, it was a shock. The massive pile, dusty and laid out across my floor, looked like garbage. These once precious items had transformed after years of neglect into undesired and forgotten things. My reaction was the complete opposite of why I had initially kept them. This realization motivated me to finally utilize them, all of them. To reexplore their physicality and rediscover their imbued memories I wanted to make use of their existence and have them be collectively seen and experienced again. To create new importance for these oftentimes overlooked and mundane things.
To do this, I decided to compound the objects into colour-coded blocks transforming them into a larger structure. This construction allows the viewer a chance to examine them from afar or discover them in detail, making connections to these everyday objects new, accessible and special. Each bag was meticulously placed, filled, vacuum sealed and hand-sewn together with care. This process and its required focus allowed me to reevaluate each item and its individual worth. The bags, though fragile, help to preserve the objects while allowing them to remain visible. The years and years worth of messy holdings finally being emptied, organized, understood and archived feels liberating.
Below are some close-ups of the individual tiles.
Forrest Russell 