When the light thing becomes heavy on air and foam
Tegan Moore
Condensation is a process by which water residing in air changes from vapour to liquid. This occurs at a moment of saturation when the temperature changes from warm to cold. When a cloud produces rain, suspended water droplets grow large and heavy enough to fall. A building uses the process of condensation in the facilitation of air conditioning. A condenser on the outside face of an AC unit continuously absorbs heat from the inside of a building, transferring it outside as exhaust. What are the materials that attend to interior atmospheres, and how might it be possible to attend to them in return? How might modes of condensation, at its essence a phase change from one state to another, be felt in a building? Maybe condensing on the level of the body, could be a form of processing, a flexible holding capacity for understanding something that feels too expansive and complex otherwise. The exhibition Condensations , reflected on the co- existence of the body and the built environment, using condensation as a framework for thinking through processes of change. I built a modular false ceiling, based on dropped ceilings common to offices, schools and storefronts. These ceilings are designed to hide mechanical systems such as HVAC and electrical, while removable panels make it easy for systems to be accessed for maintenance and repair. The spaces above a dropped ceiling are both empty and full. They are empty in that they are hidden from view, and often void of consideration, while in operational terms they are plenum spaces: spaces full of matter, furiously facilitating an interior climate. The installation has a mesh surface through which the mechanics — lights and HVAC system are visible. It halves the room horizontally, shifting its spatial parameters by condensing the room to seven feet in height while also opening it up by framing the top half of the gallery as an active space. The surface of the ceiling is made of repurposed fibreglass mesh, the kind used to reinforce plaster. Here it becomes a light and transparent open barrier, cradling thousands of polystyrene beads and other found fragments. The foam beads are erratic and uncontainable ever since I let them loose from a beanbag chair found out on the curb. Barely held by the mesh openings, a slight breeze from the vent, or puff of air from a laugh, cough, or wave of a hand can cause them to whoosh up, sift through the tiny openings, and fall to the ground. They are moved equally by the breath of the body and the building.
all images this page:Paul Litherland
Tegan Moore, Condensations , 2024 Centre CLARK, Montreal, QC Off-cut maple, oak, & walnut, salvaged fibreglass reinforcement mesh, salvaged protective plastic mesh, salvaged polystyrene foam granules/ bean bag chair filling, twigs, leaves, cotton string, plastic cord, cardboard, salvaged air conditioner, degraded condenser fragments, salvaged metal angles.
26 on site review 48 :: building materials
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