KATHLEEN STUDEBAKER

I find the idea of a post-paradigm-shift future perpetually fascinating, and have long been drawn to post-apocalyptic imagery and narrative. Coupled with this fascination is an interest in both astronomy and physics; two areas of study that seek to explain that which (at least thus far) is unexplainable, and to understand our place in the universe. It is the combination of these interests that lead me to this work; to the creation (in part) of my own world. This place follows its own set of rules and natural laws. The WasteLand represents a re-imagined landscape, but is nonetheless intended to reference both our world, and its future. This installation locates the viewer inside a museum of the ancient-future in an alternate universe/dimension. The vines & machines are connected by an internal narrative that dictates much of the work’s content (some parts of which are detailed on the pages dedicated to each individual piece). This work is about the wonder of discovery and the tragedy of impermanence. It is a combination of, and indulgence in, all of my favorite things: it is fantasy fiction, exploration video games, bright blocks of color arranged in a gradient, post-apocalyptic imagery, and detailed hand-craftsmanship utilizing a variety of materials and processes. “The Waste Land” is a phrase with a varied literary history, which I use with reverence for, and in reference to, that history, as well as with a desire to add my part. This Waste Land was once a place called “GeoDin”; it was both a city and a state, and was the only developed society in this world. I have drawings and charts dealing with the full life-cycle of the vines, and many pages of notes on the history of GeoDin. For some years I have been very slowly creating a book sculpture called "The Compendium of GeoDinic [Natural] History". I may never complete it, but some bits and pieces can be found here. The term “people” will be used throughout my explanations of this work, but is just an approximation. The intelligent entities who inhabited this world were not “people” as we think of them. For each of the six pieces that make up this show, I will include one section representing a relevant passage from The Compendium, and a second about the work's making and existence within actual reality. The installation lighting, meant to imitate the effect of sunlight streaming through a broken wall, is designed to emphasize the sense of quiet discovery and exploration. In person, the lighting works to encourage the viewer to look closely and examine details. In photographs, however, the lighting can make the images difficult to parse. For this reason there are also “gallery light” images of each piece for reference.