2011 Secrets of the Elements 3: Dark Matters
Dragons, poisons, fissions: 27 elements used ink, acrylic, glass, wood, paper, metal, noble gas, beeswax and silk to say Nighty-night to Tungsten, or light as we know it. Asked the pool boy to wear something other than Chlorine. Alerted Mercury to the madness of hatters. And ratted out Thalium for murder most foul. The Washington Post gave Dark Matters a rave. Ingenious, it said. Clever, versatile, amusing. “They approach life’s basics with a fundamental lack of respect.” (Artist and poet liked that.)
Chlorine 17
Archival Pigment Print on Photo Paper Mounted on Board
24 x 16 inches
Over here splish splash
girls are dangerous when wet
next to pool boys too
godly to wear anything
but Chlorine in the water
Meitnerium 109
Acrylic on Polystyrene Panels, Antique Purse and Prints
39 x 28 x 16 inches
Lise Meitnerium
flew 10 marks and an atom
bomb lining her purse
Mendelevium 101
Archival Pigment Print on Vinyl Mounted on Aluminum
26 x 20 inches
In Moscow no one
forgets Mendelevium
the periodic
table maker Trains arrive
every 90 seconds
Mercury 80
Collages on Archival Pigment Prints on Vinyl Mounted on Aluminum
38 x 54 inches
Madness of hatters
hot bloodedness of dragons
Mercury rising
Rubidium 37
Archival Pigment Prints on Vinyl Mounted on Plexiglas and Sintra
24 x 18 inches
Rubidium red
fireworks explode loud as love
if love had a sound
Thallium 81
Acrylic, Board and Archival Pigment Print Mounted on Birch Panel
28 x 16 inches
Rat among poisons
riding a pale horse Murder
most foul Thallium
Tungsten 74
Archival Pigment Print on Duratrans Mounted on Lightbox
24 x 18 inches
That’s it Last flicker
End of light as we know it
hanging from a thread
You gave such a lovely glow
Nighty-night Tungsten Sweet dreams
Xenon 54
Noble Gases, Glass, Print
on Sintra
36 x 27 inches
Xenon rockets sail
the spacey blue Dark matter’s
infinite tundra
Californium 98
Archival Pigment Print Laminated on Skateboard
9 x 37 inches
Axes pick oil slick
49ers Midas-bright
Californium