Watch now: 'Elaine Cameron-Weir: Systems of Power' via Louisiana Channel

19 April 2024

In this interview, Louisiana Channel meets up with Elaine Cameron-Weir as she walks us through her solo exhibition 'A WAY OF LIFE' at Lisson Gallery New York.

“My love of observation brought about this love of material. I am fascinated with the real world more than the depiction of it. And then the in-between that sculpture can be. It exists materially in front of us.”

Elaine Cameron-Weir’s work is informed by the array of systems and structures that humans have created to deal with the unknown – be that through scientific inquiry, religion, modes of governance, or creative practices. Her sculptures incorporate part-objects repurposed from their scientific, medical, military, or faith-giving functions into reliquaries or representations of larger systems of belief and power.

“Why am I drawn to materials and objects from different industries, like the military, medicine, or religion? The short answer is thatthere are systems of power. They are systems that humans use to create meaning, and art is one of those systems of power.”

“I think about the function of art a lot. Like what it does, what’s the purpose, and it has a purpose. I believe that you can model something beyond what you have in front of you.”

Her installations combine found fragments with definitively handmade elements, using techniques as varied as vitreous enameling, glass casting, metalworking, and leather tooling. Together, these arrangements are often suspended from the ceiling, seemingly levitating from the ground, yet are simultaneously held in tension by gravity and an architectural framework of pulleys and cables. Materials can also be ephemeral, incorporating heat, light and scent, suggesting transformations of solid matter into dust or diffusion into atmosphere.

Cameron-Weir’s sculptures often form uncanny mirror imagesthrough symmetrical details that emphasize the dualistic nature of any narrative or narrator. Although her practice resists straightforward characterization or iconographic interpretation, Cameron-Weir’s works offer the possibility of passage through a portal or beyond a threshold, further facilitating the transition from one state to the next.

“I want to show or offer my way of thinking for someone else’s consideration. Not to adopt, but just a message has been sent.”

Watch in full via Louisiana Channel.