The Natural Order

Collecting the materials from the railroad.

Gathering discarded railroad spikes.

Railroad tracks bisecting Elon's campus.

On the hunt for more discarded rail spikes.

Scouring the tracks for usable materials.

The vertical spikes surrounded a mound of sand and plant life.

The spikes surrounded the mound of sand and plants.

The vertical spikes surrounded a mound of sand and plant life.

The railroad spikes were mounted vertically using clay to keep from toppling over.

The number and position of the spikes represents crowds of poeple straining for a better look.

The arrangement of the spikes imitates that of people at worship or congregation.

The front row of the crowding spikes standing shoulder to shoulder.

Peeking through the crowd to glimpse the altar of plant life.

The spikes surrounded the mound of sand and plants.

The outlet was incorporated into the piece rather than covered up.

The front row of the crowding spikes standing shoulder to shoulder.

The Assignment:

Artist’s Statement

Working with your partners, create an installation which enhances one sense and denies the others.

The Subject:

By re-contextualizing materials of human progress, putting them in juxtaposition with the natural world, we are commenting on the tenuous balance that man and nature share.

The Team:

The Process:

The team spent a lot of time gathering large quantities of discarded human artifacts: railroad spikes for use as iconic symbols of progress and industry. These had been discarded and left to rust and succumb to mother nature. After lugging a couple hundred pounds of steel from the tacks and an inquiry from a nosy police officer the spikes were arranged in a large semi-circle around an arangement of plant-life in a manner suggesting worship. The spikes were mounted using clay on the base to maintain their vertical positioning.

One minor obstacle we had not anticipated with the gallery space was an outlet. We decided not to cover it up but to incorporate it in the piece by having vines erupting out of the socket. I hope it wasn’t a hazard or safety violation… After the installation was taken down the spikes were returned to the railroad company.