Carl Sean McMahon
Opening reception Friday, May 1, 2009 from 7 to 9 PM
Exhibition runs through to Sunday, May 24, 2009
Carl Sean McMahon believes many modern consumer products are manufactured with a short life expectancy. When fashion or function dictates their end, these items are disposed of, adding to the skyrocketing amount of waste on the planet. While recycling programs give some discarded products new life, many are trucked away to landfills. This is where Carl Sean McMahon collects them, rescuing discarded materials and using them to create the metal sculptures displayed in his “Resurgence: (re)Visioning Scrap” exhibition.
The Resurgence series displays metal sculptures completely created from the by-products of Western consumption. Utilizing a wide variety of discarded components that have been chopped, shaped, polished and welded, the sculptures provide a sophisticated, highly detailed, and intricate art form literally formed from garbage. Form and depth is revealed as the viewer interacts with each piece, identifying familiar objects — barbeques, swing sets, dartboard frames — presented through the finished work. The human-like characteristics found in each piece serve as a constant reminder that humankind created the waste.
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