CHRISTOPHER FORTIN
Agents of Erosion Series
Noesis MFA Series
As we progress through time, language is generated and adapted through the ever-changing structures of society and technology. Like all languages, non-verbal communication has adapted and changed through time and culture. A single gesture can mean a dozen different things, yet many of these traits have stayed constant over human existence; it is this universal visual presentation that is our language of emotion.
Often times we hide our true emotions from the world around us, using spoken language to deceive others. While we can easily express falsehood through speech, the body becomes far more challenging to conceal our true emotions. Through the use of postures and gestures, I explore the visual language of emotion as a method of studying one of human’s most basic forms of interaction.
Scale drastically changes the way we perceive an object; something small can seem vulnerable while larger scaled objects can become menacing. The same is true for material and its appearance and wear. By creating distressed surfaces I illustrate the rich history of my figures’ lives, exposing the fragile process of creating such forms. We are the sum of our experiences and my figures wear their scars visibly as their skin.
Other Figures
Hands
What are the agents of erosion? Are they policy makers, are they our informers? Is it the separations of our information, or the ways we digest it? Is it the inevitable changes we face over time? What are these changes and do they benefit us, or hinder us?
Agents of Erosion is a show depicting the decline of our environment, both politically and ecologically. I began by exploring the texture of wood and nuanced markings it expresses over time. From there, I studied the three most common elements of deterioration wind, water, and fire, to depict the multiple forces of change we face literally and metaphorically. Wood is resilient much like our own values, but with the right pressure, we see the impacts of these erosive actions.
Each of the figures represent ourselves and the many struggles we face in our lives. I depicted each of them in a state of deterioration as a method of exploring our own humanity and the challenges we face together.