Going for broke
Ali Rahman
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Reid rebuilds the material world, one brick at a time
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Kerri Reid recovers, reproduces, repairs and replaces
I admit to feeling a little daunted when I entered Kerri Reid's Material Concerns exhibit at Skol gallery. To the naked eye, it appeared as though a giant Pier 1 Imports shipping crate had exploded in the space. Granted, there was last-minute setup happening, but upon reflection, I can't imagine the Material Concerns being presented all that differently. Something inherent in the... Material.Reid's approach is partly archeological, partly arts and crafts, and decidedly thoughtful. She takes discarded (most often broken) mass-produced manufactured objects and reproduces them (faults and all) by hand. She then repairs the original object and returns it to where she found it. There is meticulous reverse engineering happening here. In taking something manufactured and remaking (then rebreaking) it by hand, she is somehow adding essence to something that would otherwise just be "a thing."
Reid has extended her concept by posting "found" ads on Craigslist for her source objects, hoping to reunite them with their original owners. This suggests that these objects carry some potential sentimental value for someone else, as they so obviously do for her. She treats these broken bits like lost treasures, evidenced best by the homemade archeology-style tray she carries her broken ceramics in.
The objects she chooses are generally domestic, everyday, and are often somehow connected to the Straussian notion of accumulation within elementary structures. There is an inherent pathos in these objects. Teacups,
clay pots, baskets and bricks: Objects that were once prized as essential to the accumulation of information in early sedentary society are now found discarded as waste. Reid takes it upon herself to recover these objects and connect with their original meaning. Ultimately, Material Concerns is a process work. In her meticulous and fastidious manipulation of the objects she is inadvertently expanding her skill set. This exhibit has forced her to learn ceramics and basket weaving, as well as improve her painting techniques.
The highlight pieces of the show are the fine-detail drawings of her objects. Drawings she subsequently faxed to various manufacturers as schematics.
Material Concerns
At Skol (372 Ste-Catherine W., suite 314), until June 14
