The Carpentry of Speculative Things

Overview

This month Alaska Projects offers The Carpentry of Speculative Things: An Art Experiment, an exhibition where philosophy meets art. Both writers and artists are gathered to respond to the mind-bending concepts of Speculative Realism.

Topics up for visual discussion include the role of art in a new age of interactive technologies; philosopher Quentin Meillassoux's ideas about a virtual god yet to exist; the independence of objects from human consciousness; and other similarly lightweight stuff.

Results will range from Rochelle Haley's paintings of ancient crystals "comprehending" one another, to David Eastwood's miniature models of Morandi bottles and Jacquelene Drinkall's UFO exploring Object Oriented Ontology. Writer Stephen Muecke seeks to pose the question, "What if?" while Baden Pailthorpe's "Radar" deposes humans from their usual, central place of priveleged observation. Artists Prue Gibson and Amy Ireland are also featured.