Phil Ross

Juggernaut, 2004, 24″ x 36″ 10″

 

 

Many of the artworks that I make are created through the design and construction of controlled environmental spaces. In these environments I nurture and transform a variety of living species into sculptural artifacts, much as one might train the growth of a Bonsai tree. My desire is that a person encountering this living artwork will consider biological phenomena and entities within a frame of social and historic contexts.

 

Below is an image of a recent project, Juggernaut, which is a self-contained survival capsule for one living plant. Three blown glass enclosures provide a controlled hydroponic environment; the plant’s roots are submerged in nutrient-infused water, while LED lights supply the necessary illumination. I have drawn on two culturally divergent traditions for Juggernaut: Chinese scholar’s objects and Victorian glass conservatories, which share the belief that nature is best understood when seen through the lens of human artifice.

 

 

 

 

Jarred In, which was on display in 2002 at The Exploratorium, is sixteen feet tall and twelve feet wide. In this garden pairs of plants are housed in life support pods suspended from a chandelier like armature. The roots of the plants swim in illuminated, water filled boxes. Water is pumped up from tall Plexiglas reservoirs resting on the ground. The reservoirs are attached to a central pod on the ground, referred to by the folks at The Exploratorium as “the mother ship” and housing six Dwarf Impatiens. Cushioned settees, covered with a Victorian floral print fabric and sealed in clear vinyl, surround this floor pod.

 

These autonomous growing containers are modeled on the techniques and aesthetics of the Wardian Cases that were used to transport living plants from one continent to another during the 18th and 19th centuries. They are effectively isolated from the environment of The Exploratorium, demanding a great dedication of electricity and materials to remain healthy. I also wanted them to look like the swarm of alien ships that appear at the end of Close Encounters of The Third Kind.

 LINK: artist website