Residuum began with our interest in a collection of ancient Roman and Egyptian glass at the Art Institute of Chicago. These fragile and sometimes fragmented objects have luminous surfaces of iridescent color, created through centuries of oxidation and deterioration. Working collaboratively, we combine the contemporary technologies of macro photography and digital printing, and the ancient encaustic medium to explore the allure of decay and the temporality of matter that we found there. The resulting works suggest the passage of time and change on both the microcosmic and macrocosmic scale. They are reminiscent of topographical maps or planetary surfaces; they may suggest the minute, cellular structures of living things. And suspended in indeterminate time, these images float in layers of primordial substance, beeswax. Qualities of shifting scale, definition, and obscurity defy their precise temporal and spatial positioning.
The human desire to make the incalculable concrete, nameable, navigable, and safe emerges in systems of labeling and notation. Mapping may be used both literally and conceptually as a method of analyzing and visualizing terrain. In these works, arrows, numbers, targets, and compasses allude to processes of location and identification, while diagrams and formulas signal the elusive nature of such explanation.
The residue of decay creates these beautiful surfaces, and with this decay comes impending loss. Time will ultimately destroy these objects, and in that cycle we experience a sense of foreboding for the things we create and for the natural world. With both apprehension and wonder, we investigate the inevitability of entropy and the expectation of collapse.