the pathless flight of birds is a sculptural work which explores notions of forces through fields and apprehensions. These sculptural forms were created by molding black aluminum foil over driftwood. By embracing the opacity, matteness and pliability of this material, I draw attention to the textural complexity that it can harbor whereby various tensions can coalesce harmoniously.

What is a force? Definitions of forces are elaborated in various scientific, cultural and spiritual contexts that all have a connotation of something that causes an action, a motion; a force acts upon matter to make it fall due to gravity, peer pressure forces someone to commit an action, an event moves a crowd to mobilize, ect. Forces, whether they be physical, social, or ideological, are generally granted an ethereal yet powerful presence because they have repercussions both in material and intangible realms.

In modern physics, the notion of forces is intricately linked to the notion of a field; gravity acts within a gravitational field, magnetism within a magnetic field. While representations through diagrams can serve as a medium to picture their presence, fields are nonetheless enigmatic despite their omnipresence and sway upon matter. Every fall, having lived in North America most of my life, I observe the migration of Canada Geese across the sky as they depart to seek shelter and nourishment elsewhere before they return in the spring. Their flight pattern in a V shape, that concerted fashion in which they arrange and rearrange themselves while in flight to be more efficient, is characteristic. It is theorized that small magnetic fragments in their brain help to orient their bodies in space. These living beings are sensitive to the presence of the Earth’s magnetic field which guides them across the Northern and Southern hemisphere, much like having tiny compasses inherently informing their experience of the world. Human beings as a species are not capable of viscerally feeling this field. How other species perceive the world is a vast domain of research in the biological sciences where we hope to shed some light on how different adaptations have led to the development of faculties and senses. Researchers posit that various species of fish can feel ocean currents in fundamentally different ways compared to human beings. Could we then dismiss as inconsequential a goldfish who remains in a stagnant aquarium? Is a bird more attuned to the planet than we ever can be? What then of the expression “birdbrain”?

As civilizations transition through time, the notion of forces has incurred disparate connotations and associations. A force could be judged negatively as being dark, bad, dangerous, or positively as light, good, and safe - beauty, of course, always being in the eye of the beholder. In the prehistory of homo sapiens sapiens, light and fire became associated with safety and shelter, while darkness alluded to danger and death. Yet, it is undeniable that many mammals require some darkness in order to reach restorative sleep, a vital process for growth and repair. In darkness, humanity consolidated many of its doubts, fears and anxieties, but paradoxically, also many of the most magical experiences of existence - thrills, pleasures, and curiosities. Black cats and ravens have been associated in some cultures with death, bad luck and villainy despite being highly intelligent beings who survive often by being cunning. We cast into darkness what we do not understand, yet sometimes safety leads to an unease, a boredom, that sends some to seek for knowledge in obscurity. The forces that surround us ought to be encountered both with elation and caution should one wish to embrace a more wholesome experience of existence.