In Front of the Plane

In my series In Front Of the Plane, I use an architectural setting as the location and creation of my work. I take each piece through several physical states – from painting to installation, to photograph and sculpture - in a sequence of deconstructions and reconstructions.

I start the work with a thin pour of beeswax pigmented with a singular color on a large flat horizontal surface. This membrane is then separated from its ground, dissected into several hundred smaller rectangular, square or banded elements, and mounted as a spatial installation (State 1). The panels are arranged on a grid-like system that encompasses one or more walls. They are suspended approximately 3 inches in front of the surface of a wall and 2 inches apart, creating a space for light to travel into, behind and between the wax pieces. Staged this way, light passes through the material, not only illuminating the wax, but also reflecting its hue into the entire space. Random changes in the thickness of the poured wax affect its perceived hue and value. Thinner segments are more translucent and light up, while thicker sections are opaque and absorb light. The viewer experiences an oscillation between the installation’s grid-like pattern and the smoothly flowing field of varying color, which overrides the grid.

I then make a record of the installation with a photograph, which itself becomes part of the progression of the work (State 2). The photograph is set up to create the illusion of a frame with the surrounding walls, ceiling and floor. Back mounted behind Plexiglas, but floating an inch in front of the wall, the image creates its own spatial setting. In this form the photograph becomes it’s own work while at the same time it is a representation of the work itself. Finally, all wax elements of the installation are reconfigured into a stacked sculpture, creating a dense form of color resting on a wooden board. In this final state (State 3) the sculpture rests on the floor, several feet in front of the photograph. In this configuration, the absence of the previous state is as much part of the work, as the dialogue between the image of the installation and the sculpture.

Johannes Girardoni

Notes on In Front of the Plane, 2008