11-11-11

One year and 11 days ago I had my first solo show—HyperObjects: Shards of the Eschaton. The show was held at the Cordell Taylor Gallery here in Salt Lake City and opened on a Friday night with a wonderfully auspicious date. (Another 1,000 years and we can do it all over again!)

HERE are some great shots of my work as documented by Shawn Rossiter's 15 Bytes. Thanks for the great article, Shawn and team! (Follow the link at the bottom of the 15 Bytes page to see the full review of my show and the photos mentioned above...)

Anyway, it was great turnout for the opening night and the interest continued for the full month the show was up. Cordell is a local metal sculptor of tremendous talent and it was an honor to be invited by him to show in his gallery last year.

And here are a couple of photos of opening night:

This is my Artist's Statement for the HyperObject show:

HyperObjects

Shards of the Eschaton

In the mid 70s I began making small drawings that seemed to arise spontaneously. For me they are a communication that I have been documenting with pen and paper for over 35 years—a communication that wants to be shared in steel.

Notes regarding a series of 23 steel sculptures that I would call HyperObjects began to appear in April of 2001. These objects would be sourced from my drawings and inspired by key concepts of Terence McKenna, especially those concerned with the Eschaton at the end of time that he believed was drawing mankind and history toward cataracts of transcendental change. I chose the name HyperObjects because it reflected his terminology for this “transcendental object” as well as my own experience in birthing these drawings from some kind of imagined hyperspace. They emerge during moments of reflection or anytime I am in a suitable frame of mind that seems to help me precipitate their concrescence.

All of my work is essentially an effort to recreate the Mystery in material form. My HyperObjects Series is specifically an attempt to accrete a group of unique pieces whose qualities reflect the Mystery for me—multi-dimensional, embedded, arcane, enfolded, enigmatic, patinated, archaic, alchemical, sacred and emergent…

—Randall Hankins, 2011