World No 1 & 2
2011 & 2012
World No 1 was commissioned by Bedfordshire University in 2010. The piece is made from discarded computer components 6m x 4.5m x 30cm (supplied by Secure IT Recycling).
The choice to use a world map was guided by the site, the university being a global place of learning where students come from around the world to learn. World No 1 is sited in a space where people locate themselves within the building. The piece plays with topographical references as motherboards are maps made with arteries for information and electricity to travel through. Bedfordshire University prides itself on its computer design and software courses so this material seemed appropriate for the context of the location.
The computer components are transformed into a sculpture that highlights the material's beauty. They are dissected, their innards exposed, revealing the underbelly of the machines we take for granted; an autopsy of our consumer society. Stockwell chooses these ‘commodity’ materials because they contain 'Stains of Existence' and act as ready-made signifiers, which she sculpts and interweaves in ways that delicately reveal their obscured politics and hidden beauty.
World 2 was commissioned by BlackRock Investments, courtesy of TAG Fine Arts 2012. The piece is made from discarded computer components 3m x 1.5m x13cm (supplied by Secure IT Recycling).
Collections:
World 1 is in the collection of Beckinghamshire University, UK
World 2 is in the collection of Black Rock Investments, New York USA.
Publications:
ENORMOUS WORLD MAP MADE FROM RECYCLED COMPUTERS BY SUSAN STOCKWELL Ego Alter-Ego
Video:
