TEMPLE OF DISCONNECTION, 2019
Brass, plastic, foam, wood, pewter, glass, aluminum, magnets, hair, paint, ink, adhesives, stickers
W: 30cm; L: 30cm; H: 63cm
Description:
The Temple of Disconnection is an installation artwork that I envision built at 10 times the dimensions of the photographed model above, placed in an outdoor urban location with access to the general public. The installation will invite one to enter its inner sanctum and reflect on contemporary attitudes towards smartphone use by coming face-to-face with the deification of iPhone as Lord in a bird house.
The squashed dome reminiscent of ancient Indian temples sits atop a rounded-edge cube base made of 40 brightly colored metal rods spaced a foot apart and which extend to a pinnacle height of 20 feet. The structure symbolizes the body seated in meditation in the colors of the chakras.
The Lord is perched on the shrine at the front of the temple. Hanging in the dome above is Birdbrain, with rear lobe facing forward, imploring one to look at things with a different perspective. On either side of the Lord stands a large egg, a golden hairy one on the left and a white one with antennas on the right, to wit, FOMO and Fonxiety, the offspring of Birdbrain and the Lord. The relationship between the elements is about the consequences of letting our minds loose on a phone… or is it the phone that is let loose on our minds?
The Information Age has seen the sacrifice of solitude on the altar of interconnection, represented here as the ‘Mercy Seat’ in the center of the space. The raised tank recalls a time long gone when that seat signified solitude. The movement within the temple is designed to lead to a “selfie spot” reached by standing on top of the seat, a pseudo-dangerous ledge that will include warning signs sampled from the fatal selfie spots in nature that have gained notoriety around the world. To reach the selfie spot, the viewers must face the front of the raised tank and turn their backs on the black reflective screen. In this space on the inside of the raised tank, the Temple’s invocation is displayed: “Lord, have mercy on our solitude”.
