Access Points-or-alternative-states-of-matter-ing

Audio Description

04:46

RA Walden, access points // or // alternative states of matter(ing), audio description, 04:46. Courtesy of Rebecca Singh.

In the foreground, a sculptural installation of large concentric metallic rings lies on a grassy hillside. To the left, tall trees cast dark silhouettes, while to the right, the edge of a wooded area is visible against the horizon. In the background, rolling hills fade into the distance under a gradient sky that transitions from warm yellow near the horizon to deeper blue tones higher up.

RA Walden access points // or // alternative states of matter(ing), 2023, originally commissioned by Storm King Art Center. Photo by: Adela Goldsmith, courtesy of the artist and Storm King Art Center.

Audio Description – Transcript

This work is displayed in landscape orientation in a 6 foot tall by 9 foot long lightbox with a black frame. The lower edge of this lightbox’s frame is at doorknob height level.

This colour photograph will be described in halves. The top half features the sky. It is dawn, and the sun is coming up. The centre of the photo is the horizon line and the lower half of the photo is landscape which is covered in grass as well as an artwork, which is flat on the grass.

In the lower half of the photo the grass is green and some of it has gone to seed. The main focus is three large artworks which lie flat on the ground. They are of grey aluminum and from the angle the photograph is taken, they are only partly visible. Each is a large disc, one behind the other with the furthest being too far away to make out details. The closest disk has an inner circle, a centre ring around it and then an outer ring. The rings are joined in a spoke-like fashion. Sitting on top of the rings are more circles. In the outer ring there are five, on the centre ring there are two. The two other artworks appear to be similarly constructed.

The top half of the photo has trees on the left and right side. On the left side the leaves are dense. A wall of foliage is cut off by the top of the photograph. A little closer to centre, the sky is a light yellow colour. Some stars are still visible in the sky. Behind the foliage the sky shifts from light yellow to purpleish blue. Moving away from this area, a few stars are visible near the centre at the top. They are white specs in a purpleish bluish sky. On the right edge of the photo, a hedge of trees sits in the distance.

The horizon is not flat. In the distance the land slopes down towards the right. In the foreground, the land slopes down towards the left.

Poetic Text

Full poetic text transcript and image descriptions available for download as a PDF here.

The image contains text and a graphic representation. The text begins with the term "carbon: 1s²2s²2p²", referencing the electron configuration of carbon, and then transitions into a poetic description of carbon-related concepts such as soot, coal, ash, smog, and geological and environmental imagery. Below the text, there is a minimalist graphic resembling a Bohr model of an atom. The nucleus is represented as a solid black circle, surrounded by two concentric rings with small dots indicating electrons in orbit.

The image contains text and a graphic representation. The text begins with the term " Hydrogen: 1s1” referencing the electron configuration of hydrogen, and then transitions into a poetic description of elemental transformation, destruction, and rebirth, blending scientific references to hydrogen. To the left of the text, there is a minimalist graphic resembling a Bohr model of an atom. The nucleus is represented as a solid black circle, surrounded by one concentric rings with a small dot indicating an electron in orbit.

The image contains text and a graphic representation. The text begins with the term "Nitrogen: 1s22s22p3” referencing the electron configuration of nitrogen, and then transitions into a poetic description. The text reflects on the interconnectedness of life and matter, the dualities of creation and destruction, and the body’s integration with the natural and elemental world. Above the text, there is a minimalist graphic resembling a Bohr model of an atom. The nucleus is represented as a solid black circle, surrounded by two concentric rings with small dots indicating electrons in orbit.

The image contains text and a graphic representation. The text begins with the term “oxygen: 1s22s22p4” referencing the electron configuration of oxygen, and then transitions into a poetic description. The text engages with themes of loss, transformation, and the passage of time. To the right of the text, there is a minimalist graphic resembling a Bohr model of an atom. The nucleus is represented as a solid black circle, surrounded by two concentric rings with small dots indicating electrons in orbit.

The image contains text and a graphic representation. The text begins with the term “phosphorus: 1s22s22p63s23p3” referencing the electron configuration of phosphorous, and then transitions into a poetic description. The text engages with concepts of impermanence, transformation, and the cyclical nature of time. To the right of the text, there is a minimalist graphic resembling a Bohr model of an atom. The nucleus is represented as a solid black circle, surrounded by two concentric rings with small dots indicating electrons in orbit.

The image contains text and a graphic representation. The text begins with the term “sulphur: 1s22s2p63s23p4” referencing the electron configuration of sulphur, and then transitions into a poetic description. The text engages with concepts of transformation, temporality, and the interplay between the natural world and human experience. Above and to the right of the text, there is a minimalist graphic resembling a Bohr model of an atom. The nucleus is represented as a solid black circle, surrounded by three concentric rings with small dots indicating electrons in orbit.

2023

access points // or // alternative states of matter(ing)

RA Walden

Site-specific installation, text, and interpretive audio recordings
Site Z2 on the map

RA Walden’s access points // or // alternative states of matter(ing) was originally commissioned as a site-specific installation extending across several acres of Storm King Art Center’s South Ponds. The project depicts the electron configurations of the six most common elements on earth: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur (CHNOPS). The configurations of these elements—thought to be necessary for life on any planet—evoke the form of crop circles, here constructed from rings of perforated aluminum and laid across a grassy hillside. Considering landscape as body and body as landscape, Walden explores illness as a kind of visitation that leaves traces that are not always visible. Tapping into themes of science fiction and speculative fiction, the artist draws parallels between the phenomenon of crop circles, often considered to be hoaxes, and the experiences and access needs of disabled people, which are often met with disbelief, if not disdain, from the medical establishment and society. About the work, Walden has said, “the CHNOPS elements [remind us] that we are made of the same things as the earth at this point of extreme vulnerability societally, physically, and planetarily.” Each electron configuration is accompanied by a poetic text by Walden and an interpretive audio recording. Both the text and audio recording are available on the artwork’s website.

Credits:
Texts edited by: LA Warman
Sound and Performance by: The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker
Mastering by: Melissa Harris Chambers
Studio Management: Lo G Moran and Harley Aussoleil
Care Team: Clay AD, Harley Aussoleil, Aleks Peksena, Pilar Muñoz Sandoval
Scientific Consultant: Freddy Walden

Related Program

In a Manner of Speaking

→

The Blackwood
University of Toronto Mississauga
3359 Mississauga Road
Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6

[email protected]
(905) 828-3789
The galleries are currently open. Hours of operation: Monday–Saturday, 12–5pm, Wednesdays until 8pm.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Sign up to receive our newsletter.

The Blackwood is situated on the Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Seneca, and Huron-Wendat.