Loose Parts

In 2021 I moved to Muscat, Oman to join my husband on a work assignment. We were provided housing and a budget to furnish the house. Ikea was our best option to fill the space quickly within the restrictions of pandemic lockdowns. The items were delivered to our door but the assembly was left to us.

Many hours were spent unpacking the boxes, following the detailed step-by-step instructions and separating the materials into several piles. The activity not only provided structure and tangible results but time spent with materials I normally would not have been exposed to for such long intervals.

These left-over materials instead of ending up in the trash were stored in my studio. Lacking access to good art supplies I began to explore the material possibilities of the packaging. With limited material available, the activity of assembling but not fixing the pieces in place provided endless options.

The different sizes revealed each piece inserted in between the furniture pieces had a specific design purpose. Their dimensions provided strength and support during the shipping process, yet were economical enough as to not provide excess weight and cost. The patterns created by the baffling inside the cardboard and the printed recycling motifs created subtle variations in texture and value.

This work considers the representation of temporary places, the illusion of permanency in built structures as well as the dichotomy between 2&3 dimensional spaces.

The pieces are currently stored grouped together ready to be re-assembled.