Acrylic painting-based gallery installation
Dimensions: 4 ft. x 4 ft.
81 paintings, (36 ft. x 36 ft. fully assembled on floor)
Materials: Canvas, Wood, Paint
Completed: 2023
East Vancouver's iconic streets and back alleys have gained international notoriety due to the highly visible, open-air drug use that permeates these public spaces. However, there exists an unspoken code among users: despite the disposal of needles—often referred to as “rigs”—there is a collective understanding that the orange safety cap should always be reapplied to prevent the needle tip from being exposed after use.
"The Fields of Versailles" is a monumental gallery installation comprising 81 nearly identical 4 ft. x 4 ft. acrylic paintings. I construct the frames, followed by the stretching and priming of the canvas. A single used needle, held between thumb and forefinger, is dipped in black paint and stamped onto each canvas 10,000 times. This process involves applying 1,250 needle prints per layer, built up over eight distinct layers, with a thin wash of white primer applied between each one. The result is a ghostly and highly abstract, woven grid-like effect. With each subsequent layer, the needle is rotated one quarter position clockwise, maintaining the intricate pattern. Only the topmost layer of needles is adorned with the orange safety caps.
This installation is designed to occupy a substantial 36 ft. x 36 ft. area within the gallery, combining all 81 of the nearly identical paintings into a cohesive floor piece. A 12ft. x 12ft. section (3 x 3 paintings) in the very middle of the floor piece features paintings with caps off, providing a subtle counter-point to the mass of paintings with their orange safety caps on.
When fully assembled, the work transforms into a vast landscape painting that invites viewers to navigate around its periphery. This project required two years of labor and culminated in 810,000 needle stamps, with 100,000 of those featuring the caps.
Next