James S. Lee

Terrestrial Object no.1: Rehydrated clay (2020)

Terrestrial Object no.2: Clay, P.V.A, charcoal, Mediterriano premium cold pressed extra virgin olive oil (2020)

Terrestrial Object no.3: Dried out clay rehydrated in water (2020)

Terrestrial Object no.4: Clay, P.V.A, Survival blanket, rainwater (2020)

Water Carrier: Clay, GOOP “Martini” emotional detox bath soak, survival blanket, P.V.A, rain water (2020)

This work has been influenced by looking into a theorised point of time called the “population bottleneck” where the number of humans on earth could have reached as low as 3,000. During this period, human creativity also seemed to expand ( called “behavioral modernity”) with an interesting array of artifacts having been discovered showing this development under these intense conditions at the time. These finds include decorated ostrich egg shells, which were used to store water, under rocks or hidden in sand in parts of Africa during periods of intense heat that nomadic humans would return to, a practice that occurs to this day. Various clay containers have been placed around Folkeparken (the site of the exhibition “Carrier”), wrapped in survival blankets, filled them with modern high end consumer products, or left empty to return to the earth, kept in an intriguing state between practical storage object or collecting vessel (collecting rainwater), religious or spiritually derived totem or sci-fi film props of aliens eggs.