Stella Bronson
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Containers
Welded steel & black rubber air pressure bladders 2021 
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Artist Statement
In my mixed media sculpture work I build three-dimensionally in relation to concepts of nature and the human experience. I transform everyday items and recycled materials into enigmatic, organic looking forms that are reminiscent of body. These objects hold remembrance to the intimate history they house. My muted and neutral color palettes allow for more focus on the form and texture. My work is often awkward, humorous, yet approachable, in a non-threatening way. Seduction and repulsion is something I play with in a clumsy balance between familiar and unfamiliar. Like nature, most of the materials I chose are degradable which adds to the relationship to temporality. Containers act as capsules for preservation. The rubber bladders trap air, while the steel band around the bladder constricts it in place. The bladders are supported through the symbiotic relationship they have with the welded steel frame.
Through the lens of Endurance Of Change this piece works through concepts of restraint and expansion. Containers preserve the history of the material through time by the air trapped inside, preserving the notion of change. This dichotomy reflects symbiosis through the supportive and reliant role each component plays on the other. Expansion is conceived through the form loosely inspired by the current technological strides toward space. The new Rover-Drone recently landed on Mars and Voyager 1, launched in 1977, has just left our Solar System and is still sending data back to Earth. This is the contextual backdrop for Containers, referencing space technology and human advancement through restraint and expansion.
In my mixed media sculpture work I build three-dimensionally in relation to concepts of nature and the human experience. I transform everyday items and recycled materials into enigmatic, organic looking forms that are reminiscent of body. These objects hold remembrance to the intimate history they house. My muted and neutral color palettes allow for more focus on the form and texture. My work is often awkward, humorous, yet approachable, in a non-threatening way. Seduction and repulsion is something I play with in a clumsy balance between familiar and unfamiliar. Like nature, most of the materials I chose are degradable which adds to the relationship to temporality. Containers act as capsules for preservation. The rubber bladders trap air, while the steel band around the bladder constricts it in place. The bladders are supported through the symbiotic relationship they have with the welded steel frame.
Through the lens of Endurance Of Change this piece works through concepts of restraint and expansion. Containers preserve the history of the material through time by the air trapped inside, preserving the notion of change. This dichotomy reflects symbiosis through the supportive and reliant role each component plays on the other. Expansion is conceived through the form loosely inspired by the current technological strides toward space. The new Rover-Drone recently landed on Mars and Voyager 1, launched in 1977, has just left our Solar System and is still sending data back to Earth. This is the contextual backdrop for Containers, referencing space technology and human advancement through restraint and expansion.
This artwork is one of 12 pieces in The Endurance of Change open-air exhibition. Click here to read the curator's statement and learn more about other works in this exhibition.