A Degree of Alchemy

featuring works by Jake Heffington

CURATORIAL / EXHIBITION STATEMENT

This is a show about making rare things from common materials. I have spent the last 6 months tirelessly manipulating and experimenting with styrofoam. Using chemical interference as a blunt compositional tool, I have searched for expressions that transform it from secondary and overlooked to primary and treasured. With this exhibition, I hope to achieve Alchemy.

The gallery and adjacent studio represent a sliver of this experimentation and a glimpse into my process. Each piece has been selectively and meticulously dissolved, stabilized and established over a period of weeks in order to expose hidden structures and textures. They are delicate and fragile. They are the ruins of consumption.

Styrofoam has been sourced from local environmental organizations, and from all of our trash cans.

ARTIST BIO

Jake Heffington is an artist drawn to the latent potential of forgotten things. His heavily process-based work evolves from simple questions about common materials. Iterative experimentation distorts, disfigures, and contorts raw materials resulting in strange, otherworldly creations with roots in the hidden qualities and capabilities of the material. His unconventional processes, mediums, and compositions reflect a commitment to creative inquiry and exploration.

Jake is an award-winning architect (…And Other Works), design educator (North Carolina State University), and artist living and working in Durham North Carolina. He is the Founder and Executive Director of [Diversify Architecture], a nonprofit supporting young BIPOC architects and designers in their pursuit of education and licensure. Follow @and.other.works on Instagram for updates on his public and private art, architecture, and dog Ando.