5 Boxes — a State of Mind

Five versions of the same basic form lined up in order — cardboard, card, and lead — each one a similar idea in a different material or manner. A question about what a box actually is.

Five versions of the same basic form lined up in order — cardboard, card, and lead — each one a similar idea in a different material or manner. A question about what a box actually is.

The solid cardboard cube in the studio, the light catching the flute at every edge and making it glow slightly, and appear penetrable.

The same box, properly photographed — plain paper wrapping, string, white background. The studio version of a thing that had previously only existed on a worktop.

The first box I made, built to house a piece of polystyrene that had been compressed and deformed — the container more substantial than its contents. That imbalance felt about right.

A cardboard box rendered in lead — the familiar form made suddenly, uncomfortably heavy. The notches and joins that would be nothing in card become something else entirely in this material.