After the sugar mural completed its life cycle, in an all-too-quick duration of 1 week, documentation of this devolution was used to create a new, digital artwork. The resulting image, incorporating “tiles” from various stages in the process, will become the billboard image for PLAN LARGE, a public art initiative that the Darling Foundry does every 2 years with Le Mois de la Photo, a contemporary photography biennale.

This is the image in its digital form. Once installed, it will look a little different, since it will be backlit. Click on an image to view it larger.

---

Posted by admin on September 6th, 2009 :: Filed under Plan Large public art project
Tags :: billboard, Darling Foundry, public art, sugar

---

Installing the mural on-site happened on August 18 and 19th, just before the opening on the 20th. It’s up!! It’s already started to fade, so we’ll see how long this one lasts.

---

Posted by admin on August 19th, 2009 :: Filed under Plan Large public art project
Tags :: Montreal, old port, public art, slave trade, slavery, sugar

---

I am working on a 2-part project in Montreal for August/September 2009. It’s for the “Plan Large” project that the Darling Foundry does in conjunction with Mois de la photo. The Darling Foundry has 4 public billboards located in Old Montreal. For each Mois de la photo biennale, the Foundry selects 2 new artists for 2 of the billboards. With this scheme, each billboard stays for 4 years.

I was selected for the ground level billboard this year. The first part of the project is to install a newly designed sugar mural on top of the existing billboard space. As this is a temporary mural, I will be documenting it throughout its demise. This sugar mural will be installed in the beginning of August. Once I have completed my documentation, I will be composing a photo-montage from my documentation. Regardless of its appearance, the panel will the removed by the middle of September so that the photo can be installed in it’s place.

The opening for the Mois de la photo is September 12. At this time, I am still uncertain if the photo will be up for this date, or if the sugar mural will remain. The original idea was to leave the sugar mural up for the opening, so that people could see this ephemeral work before it’s gone. Since the photo billboard will be up for 4 years, there will be ample opportunity for people to see the photo at a later date. This is likely what will still happen.

Here are some images of my design at my studio. The pattern is printed out to the scale and shape of the actual mural (approx. 5 1/2 feet high x 12 feet wide).

---

Posted by admin on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under Plan Large public art project
Tags :: Darling Foundry, harbour, Mois de la photo, Montreal, public art, slavery, sugar

---

I basically finished installing on Sunday, the day before the opening. The humidity was super high, so the tiles were becoming re-saturated with moisture, and thus, softening and beginning to slide. All of this was leaving me pretty anxious about if things would stay in place until the opening. Then, Sunday night, it poured all night! I just kept thinking, there’s no way it’s all going to in tact after this rain. So Monday morning, I went back to the museum to assess the damage. And… it was actually ok! One tile had fallen off, but a staff member picked it up and kept it in her office for me, so I was able to put it back up. I decided to put up a little more sugar “glue” between the tiles, kind of like grout, to help keep things set. The icing I use for this dries hard and doesn’t rehydrate like the tiles do, so it makes for more secure adhesion.

Here are the photos of the last touch ups and then the final product.

---

Posted by admin on June 19th, 2009 :: Filed under Saccharum BA
Tags :: azulejo, Brazil, public art, salvador, slavery, sugar

---

Day 2 was a little more tense than I had expected. I suppose the tension began when it rained overnight, and I spent the entire night wondering if all my tiles would slide down the wall over the course of the night. Arriving at the museum the next day provided some relief to see that everything was still indeed on the wall. However, the humidity was like a steam bath. ALL of the tiles from day one were wet, actually “sweating”. Even the ones I was applying fresh, the ones that were dry, were becoming moist as I was working. I began wondering if this mural would last until the opening!

It was all up by the end of the day, but I was still feeling extremely nervous about the whole thing. I always had doubts as to whether or not doing this project at this particular time of year in Salvador was feasible. As I was applying the tiles, realizing how quickly this mural might decompose, I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t much different than a very elaborate wedding cake, where the decorator spends days or weeks planning and preparing, and then it all gets eaten in a single night. My work is temporary and ephemeral. This I know, and this I must accept. Everything is impermanent anyway. Better to embrace this than to deny. Accept more and expect less.

Let’s see what happens…

---

Posted by admin on June 15th, 2009 :: Filed under Saccharum BA
Tags :: azulejo, public art, sugar

---

---

Posted by admin on May 23rd, 2009 :: Filed under The Wealth of Some and Ruin of Others
Tags :: azulejo, public art, salvador, slavery, sugar

---