Darren Sarkin, American
Infinity Pod, 2018
Even though climate disaster does lend itself to photography as a means of aesthetic documentation, I remember Darren Sarkin’s installations made up of damaged, charred wood from wildfires that hit California years ago. Sarkin carves the wood to his liking, adds lights and other shards of recycled glass to create pieces that are able to glow again, this time without threatening people or property. Here, a woman sits inside his Infinity Pod, a small structure made up of the repurposed wood, mirrors, and LED lights that set a different kind of fire to the scorched raw material. In some regards, using burnt wood for artistic purposes can be understood as doing little to address climate struggles that ultimately brought the piece to life, but I think there is something to be said about breathing a new kind of life back into them, immersing viewers in an interactive experience that condenses grief of what is lost and hope for what may come. Label by Kristin Rheins