In Entropy is a mixed-media installation created to provide the viewer with a multisensory experience through an altered space. Materials such as clay, rubber tires, and light come together to explore the concept of entropy and how, as humans, we find ways to function in the constantly changing landscape of life.
The surfaces of the dark sculptures originate from microscopic images. They reference structures of viruses, pollen, cancer cells, or bacteria. By exploring objects that range from mere nuisance to the deadly, the unpredictable nature of life is examined. The arrangement of the clay sculptures working in tandem with the dark masses created with rubber tubes from bicycle tires attempts to call to mind negative emotions. The knotted mass of tires represents the nebulous and often unsettling feelings that may accompany entropy and the unexpected changes from the deterioration of what is often perceived as an ordered and known system.
The dark ceramic sculptures give form to a fear heightened by the pandemic by taking the shape of microscopic images of disease cells, mutations, and viruses. Selected sculptures directly represent diseased cells, while others are inspired by characteristics of many different images suggesting an unknown potential hazard.
The ambient sounds recorded during silent meditations represent the feeling of chaos while searching for stillness. Through editing, the sounds that color my daily life reflect how perception can change our experiences. The drone of a fan in an empty room, noisy traffic on a busy road, birds singing in trees, and the grinding of a woodchipper hum in the background during the search for calm.
The recent pandemic heightened our awareness of life’s unpredictability. The instinct to find order and stability in chaos, as an attempt to gain a sense of peace and control, often brings conflicting outcomes of serenity and anxiety. This installation explores how these experiences influence perceptions of life and challenges found in the mutable nature of existence.
—Anna Westfall
