A PDX Window Project
PDX Contemporary Art
925 NW Flanders
Portland, Oregon
November 1-29, 2008
Cellular, a window project at PDX, is a continuation of my 15-year exploration of cellular structure and anomalies. I began to work with recordings and films of cell division in the summer of 2008 when I created Sound Wall.
Similar to Sound Wall, I re-made the PDX window space from hand made paper. Imbedded
into the paper wall is an image of a blastiocast, or the multiple cell embryos, taken with Optronics
Microfire digital cameras mounted on Olympus stereomicroscopes. A small screen in the bottom
right corner in the window shows a looped film of the embryos made with Astro IIDC imaging software..
The paper room in the window is illuminated from the interior to create the visual and physical effect
of the thin walls of cells and the embryonic sac in the films.
In order to make sheets of paper at 4’ x 8’, I poured thoroughly beaten pulp on to a 4’ x 8’ silkscreen.
These very thin sheets of paper record the pouring of the pulp and process of fiber bonding and drying. This
beaten cellular structure of plant fiber makes random cloud like patterns that look like the actual
cellular wall one sees through the microscope. I chose to make this paper myself because it has
a very low environmental impact and reflects the process of cellular formation. (The metal frames
used, were made from recycled and re-fabricated steel.)
My colleague at Reed College Steve Black, Professor of Developmental Biology and Zoology, provided
me with the raw films of the blastiocasts. Each segment was shot between a 72 and 200-hour
period and magnified 60-80 times. Steve and his students shot these images of gastrulation to the
blastiocast to understand development, anomalies and observe the full gestation. I edited these
films and repeated them over and over, to mimic the process of cell division and as a gesture of
endless
”potential”. Although each cell many look the same and each embryo is from the same species, they
develop, divide and grow at a different rate thus expressing their uniqueness and random qualities.
Special Thanks
Professor Steve Black, Allison Edgar and Judith Levine for the raw films clips.
Michael Flashman, for help making paper, assistance with fabrication and dialogue.
The Mellon Foundation for Faculty Development
Reed College