RE: Lapse 2016

Turntable, wood, plywood, wood reed, kinwashi paper unryu paper, LED lights, corn stalks, corn meal, casters

Artist Matthew Dehaemers’ original, site-specific sculptural installation RE: LAPSE was commissioned by the Water for Food Institute for this exhibition. Dehaemers worked closely with the Institute to shape his philosophy for this work, employing their mission, research, and projects as a catalyst for the visual and conceptual motifs expressed. Themes of farming, central pivot irrigation, time, and water manifest through familiar shapes, forms, and structures immediately identifiable within the artist’s aesthetic signature. 

Movement is literally and metaphorically central to this work, as the rotating arms gesture toward the viewer at the precise timing of one revolution per minute, echoing the sweeping hand of a clock. The arms extending from this core are charged with meaning, eliciting imagery of tractors harvesting crops and center pivot irrigation systems that feed these fields. 

Japanese paper protects the heart of this work – an illuminated, pulsating water droplet. Concentric circles of corn stalks spread out across the floor recalling a water ripple, while highlighting the fragile, interconnected cause and effect relationship we have with this valuable resource. 

Diminishing freshwater presents enormous challenges for feeding an ever-increasing global population amidst an unstable climate. Dehaemers and the Water for Food Institute intend RE:LAPSE to serve as a reminder of water’s power, as the center of our world’s lifeforce and something to be deeply appreciated and conserved. 

The installation’s title, RE:LAPSE, is a multivalent term, referring to the passage of time and the sometimes competing imperatives of food security and water scarcity. We as humans have a tendency to re-lapse back into comfortable practices and familiar behaviors after time, allowing the difficult habits of conservation and water preservation to quickly fall by the wayside. The title interrogates our society’s fluctuating focus on these important issues and challenges us to continue working towards solutions. 

Organizations such as the Water for Food Institute highlight, research, and solve these pressing water issues. They cannot, however, do it alone. The Water for Food Institute and other like minded institutions employ education as their strongest tool. It is only through an informed and educated populace that societal norms and attitudes can change in a meaningful way. Once we fully understand these problems, collaboration becomes possible. collaborations between groups like the Water for Food Institute and individuals like myself illuminate a path toward preserving our planet and serve as a model to those looking toward the future.