NICOLE MARANDOLA
FROM THE YARD
SEPTEMBER 5 - 11, 2016
The yard is a place of discovery, storage, and manual labor. It is a home, a lifestyle, and the source for a life times body of work. The objects that wind up here have been chosen first by my father. They may have been selected because of the zip code they came from or because a quick look over the dumpster wall revealed something promising on top. If the box is deemed worthy, it is then dropped and sorted.
My position as a “picker” within my father’s recycling company is to identify and separate the materials with the most economic value. Copper, brass, steel, aluminum, wire, concrete, household items and if we’re lucky, gold. We gather these belongings and sell them, taking what has been left behind and making it part of ourselves. This business is not only the way we earn a living but a practice in which we come together to construct objects that illustrate a reality in which we live. This reality includes our own involvement in a materialistic culture and a recognition of our need for excess to survive as a company.
The works in this exhibition include objects that have passed through the yard within the last six months or so. Yet, some were projects I started, tossed aside and later salvaged. Some materials stood the test of time and some faded, changed color, or became structurally weak. This body of work represents a movement from one condition to another and reflects the way in which I see, react, and choose objects that satisfy my passion for innovation and connection to the people who once owned them and to the viewers who will continue to engage in my contribution with them.
