Guardian, welded steel, 2020.
Matt Carlson
Guardian explores the systemic hostility that is experienced by people living with a disability. The hanging component is made of steel, the material that is literally the foundation of societies physical structure, as a metaphor for the manmade societal structures that can make the world difficult to navigate for marginalized communities. Because we interact with it daily the material is recognizable. Without conscious thought they understand its weight and density without the need to physically interact with it. The sculptures are consciously created with the hostility and violence of social structures and systems in mind. By using a series of layered and overlapping components the sculpture is created in a way that it is meant to feel approachable. It is human scale. The overlapping scales give the appearance of softness, especially from a distance. The closer one gets to the sculpture they begin to realize the harshness of the sculpture and revisit their earlier ideas of its approachability.