Inspiration: Cold Dark Matter

Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View (1991) by Cornelia Parker

Another artist who I find inspirational is Cornelia Parker. Much of her work involves destruction followed by resurrection and reconfiguration.

A theme in what inspires me seems to be emerging!

I love all of her work but Cold Dark Matter was the first piece of hers that I ever saw and I was transfixed by it when I saw it in Tate Modern, London.

To make the work Parker collaborated with the army to blow up a shed and it’s contents. The remnants were suspended from ceiling as if in mid explosion and were lit by a single light bulb which cast shadows on the gallery’s walls. I remember the shadows giving the impression that the work was expanding ever outwards and indeed it has been likened to the big bang – hence the title.

But like the previous artwork I wrote about (Blow Up by Ori Gersht) it is re configured into something very quiet and contemplative, the antithesis of the violence it took to create the piece.

The use of everyday objects is something everyone can relate to, whether in a practical or sentimental way. To see them like this is a reminder of the fragility of our existence. Or at least that’s how it made me feel.

Read the full story about Cold Dark Matter here.