Chris Christion
 

Two Day Solo Installation
Assuming Positions
2012
East Gallery & Installation Gallery 
Claremont Graduate University
Installation Images

Image of Assuming Positions Installation

Looking at elements within the installation: The Sculptures

Possession of the Object, 2015

Chairs, led screen, and video

Exploring the notion that objects are time capsules holding spirits of past lives  “Possession of the Object, 2015 consists of two conversing objects on display. There is no sound present suggesting some sort of encrypted communication in public. The deafness of the audience to their public communication

Assuming Position I, 2015 Pedestal, sand, headphones, video

The title Assuming Position is not only a play on words but also an indicator of the interaction you are invited to have with the work. The piece consists of a pedestal with an embedded video and viewfinder, and headphones hanging from the ceiling on the taller side of average viewer height. To observe properly the viewer is asked to assume an arched position with their back exposed to the viewing audience and their sense of sight and sound preoccupied, becoming both viewer and object of display.

Theological Racism and the Suspension of Belief, 2015, mixed media, dimensions variable

The ancient astronaut theory, which first appeared in the early science fiction of the late 19th to early 20th century, hypothesizes that Egyptians and various South American civilizations couldn’t possibly have built their pyramids and temples without the help of aliens. Theological Racism and the Suspension of Belief attempts to address the racist undertones present in this theory.

A levitation device hovers a tinted globe seemingly magically over the tabletop while the bottom of the table hides a scale model of one of the original Egyptian pyramids. The apparent violation of the universal laws of nature and our daily experience of those laws is simply a distraction from the real physical marvel. I Incorporate museum informational design standards such as stanchions and pedestals to create physical and psychological division between the viewer and object; these techniques conjure a level of authority and credibility to the viewing process. By using disinformation design, both the revealed illusion and the concealed truth are exposed on the same plane.

Fragment From The Black Planet c.1982 – 1994, 2015, Mixed Media

 In 1993 the hip hop group Public Enemy released its third album “Fear of a Black Planet”, with the goal to see a death of European predominance, a re-building of the black male mentality outside of the belief structures of white world cultural supremacy, and the promotion of diversity in thought and representation. The album's title also referenced the ideas of Frances Cress Wesling an Afrocentrist psychiatrist who in 1970 believed it imperative that people of color, especially people of African descent, understand how the system of white supremacy works in order to dismantle it and bring true justice to planet Earth.  

Fear of a Black Planet was arguably the tipping point for the group serving as both the beginning of their pop success and a turning point leading to their eventual fall from popularity. Fragment From The Black Planet c.1982 – 1994 serves as my attempt to imagine the physical preservation of the spirit and mentality of that time period by creating a faux containment chamber in which one of the last remaining remnants of that time is held. The years of 1982 – 1994 represent the group’s timeline and the brief moment in which Afrocetricity went pop.

Assuming Position II, 2015, Wood, video, headphones

The title Assuming Position is not only a play on words but also an indicator of the interaction you are invited to have with the work. The piece consists of headphones and a viewfinder mounted on the wall at an average viewing height. The viewer is asked to assume and hold an arched position with their back exposed to the viewing audience and their sense of sight and sound preoccupied. The taller the viewer the more they must stoop down to properly view the video playing inside; becoming both viewer and object of display.

Baby Boy, 2015, Mixed Media, Video Runtime: 02:32

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