Alexandra Phillips

sculptuur - abstract - conceptueel

At a time when generosity and transparency are things we collectively lack, my work demonstrates a type of generosity by using the familiar then launching it into unfamiliar territory. The intention is to coax a slow viewing, to generate the space for a suspended moment where opposing thoughts can be held, without calamity, in one vessel. My sculptural practice explores the dissonance that often occurs between what is actual and what is expected. My pieces quietly suggest to loosen the reigns. To abandon some preconceptions. To take a moment, pause, breathe and quit with all the assumptions. My practice is a continuous questioning of various value systems. Taking material behaviors or object traits and turning them from perceived liabilities to affirmed assets.


Just Table - 2020 faux wood table, packing paper layer removed to reveal structure then stuffed wall piece made by subtractive and process 76x76x10cm
We’ve only just begun - pigmented plaster, india ink, netting, grommets 2020 I arrived at these works through a series of alterations to a preexisting structure. The pattern that is recessed comes from the underside of an industrial rubber mat. A feature that has a utilitarian function, to keep the rubber from slipping, in this case becomes a graphic device. What usually goes unseen becomes the dominant organizing structure here. The mat acted as the mold for all the pieces in this body of work, setting the arena and creating a constant throughout the pieces. The presence of these constants such as scale, the recessed pattern, and the grommet hardware, might prompt a more intense scrutiny of the variations within each individual work and between them. These pieces deal with legibility, obstruction and prominence, one work in a series 125 x 95cm
Just Hands - 2020 Ongoing work focuses on tactility of collected used and then carved broomsticks beginning to explore carving as a process. Similar to the Bag pieces, this work can be displayed in multiple ways with not standard set up.
Rosettaikea - 2019 plaster, foam, hand branded plastic rope, ink Rosetta stone shape with Ikea tag etched by hand prototype for W139 commission Amsterdam, two are in installed as entry markers permanently 38x28x12cm
Bags or Haute Couture OUTLET - brown paper, glue 2019 human scale flat bottom bags, large scale version of common bag in the United States, multiple pieces allows for bags to be in use as a bag or displayed as a sculpture, there is not optimal state for this work. here they are in display mode 6/80 180x 50cm each
Design Designed - wood, foam, plaster, plastic 158x23x23cm 2020
Maelstrom - 2018-2020 metal, rubber, plastic, personal paper waste studio debris sealed into plastic casings stacked each 'pillow' has a 15cm diameter hole in the center forming a view to ground when looking from above 132x42x42cm
Planning - working sink with 1 year of build up with intention of later making one half clean 2018
Temp Work - Oasis foam, cardboard Installation view 2015 Sunroom Project Space, Wave Hill photo by Stefan Hagen Work was an invitation for visitors to get physical with a polarizing yet familiar material. The entrance demanded visitors to come in contact with the green floral foam, this area being kept wet throughout the exhibition. The wall piece from the same material was dry. There was no signage incouraging interaction but people were glad to assist in this work’s manifestation. I think the work tread as well as other ‘invitational’ works came out of the experience of observing Temp Work.
We Wait, We Understand - The strawberry wafer cookies pictured in this video are sold in almost all convenient stores across the United States, rural and urban alike, mom and pop and chains. Here you see them reacting to the humidity on a hot day. The video is sped up considerably. The soundtrack is a recording of a long unsuccessful service phone call I experienced in which I was on hold with multiple employees simultaneously while waiting for the supervisor.