In these 24 sculptures, Ryan Park has embedded what he calls “a momentary urge and convenience” into blocks that will endure geological time.

He has also captures a series of images that capture biological and astronomical energy in custom framed backlit boxes.

Artist Statement:

I approach projects receptive to the poetic and material possibilities suggested by each particular subject. I aim to be matter-of- fact yet resonant: simultaneously analytical and emotional; clinical and poetic. Usually beginning with a catalytic image, whether photographic or from memory, the work is an attempt to hold
together a moment of observation and response.

I am attracted to everyday or vernacular material culture for its unassuming nature and use in satisfying immediate day-to-day human needs and desires. They are the background noise of our everyday world, yet are just as much a part of our material legacy as anything else. For the past several years, my works have
begun with the material of a convenience store. For reasons of functional, economic, or cultural value, the this material is not made to be admired for long, or to last.

The objects in this exhibition connect low-grade subject matter to broader passages of time and traces of human use, evoking temporal, physical and social ecologies. Liquids of human consumption and nourishment are embedded, or reflected, in their elemental source. Biological, consumer, geological, and celestial lifespans are collapsed in the works.

For my Exhibition at Modern Fuel I am showing a sculpture installation and a series of backlit photographs. The sculpture installation consists of a set of concrete sculptures based on the form of a flat of beverage cans. These flats are used for selling canned drinks wholesale, as well as for collecting empties. Each sculpture
embeds the aluminum vessels in a concrete block, embedding the remains of a momentary urge and convenience into geological time.

The photographs are high-key images that simultaneously capture the surface of milk, as well as the sun and sky reflected in it. Biological energy, and the astronomical energy that sustains it, are held together in equal focus. The images are displayed in custom backlit lightboxes, introducing another manifestation of energy and light into the object. The lightboxes themselves are made of unfinished wood, finished with a chemical process that will allow the wood to age and display marks of wear, handling, and oxidation over time.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council for their support.

Liquid State was on display in the State of Flux Gallery from January 11, 2020 to March 7, 2020.