under contract
ArtSpace New Haven, New Haven CT . 2010
Suspended ceiling, HVAC ducting, blower, electronics, strobes, work lights, gauge, air
Located in a back corner utility room/gallery at ArtSpace in New Haven, under contract looks like an accident. No signage marks the installation, credits the artist, and the door is only half open.
Slipping into the room the space immediately feels forgotten and a little creepy. The worklights aimed up at the ceiling brighten and dim on a 8 second cycle while whooshing air can be heard overhead. In rhythm with the lights, the ducts themselves swell with pressure and slowly release. The distorting the metal creaks, groans and occasionally pops under the force of the changing air. The ducts seem to have grown down from the ceiling. Like roots on a plant, they have taken on a shape that has violated both ceiling tiles and occupiable space in a somewhat organic manner. Blue electric arcs from some unseen source flash above the ceiling tiles.
Scattered about the room is evidence of a recent installation or repair of this HVAC ducting system. Ladders still in position, ceiling tiles strewn about the floor and an air pressure gauge hangs precariously from the ceiling. It’s unclear if a tradesperson is in the process of dealing with this situation, has left for good, or was somehow harmed.
The ducts visibly expand and contract with air pressure, appearing alive and breathing.
Work lights slowly dim and brighten, matching the breathing ductwork
Random lights strobe above the ceiling from unknown locations
Ducts curl and wrap around the building infrastructure.
Extension cords hang as if the site is under construction.
Ceiling tiles lay strewn across the floor
