rachel kaede​ newsam

Chords was a temporary sculptural installation made of two wood and twine suspended spiraling walls that filled and bisected a gallery room. Visitors were expected to walk in and through the sculpture by a pathway that narrowed towards the center and widened again en route to the other side. As visitors stepped through the sculpture they interacted face to face with others coming from the opposite direction, stopping and waiting when there was not enough room for two-way traffic, and they became aware of their physical presence within the piece and the amount of space they took up.

The installation was composed of two interweaving spirals that never met. The eye of the sculpture remained a futile space in which participants could not naturally enter unless they interrupted their progression by stepping out of the pathway. This empty center was a reference to the Buddhist ideal spiritual state of emptiness, much like it is represented in Japanese craftswork, architecture, and even presentation of food. The sculpture's tactility, height, and curvy shape alluded to a baroque harp, and other inspiration for the gesture and interactivity of the sculpture came from Monty Python's “Silly Walks” sketch.