Arts & Culture | October 4, 2011

Meredith James '04 creates videos and sculptures that challenge perceptions

Artist Meredith James '04 shares three videos and additional photos of her work.

Meredith James created her 14 x 8 x 12-foot sculpture <i>Impossible House</i> with salvaged wood and windows. — Meredith James created her 14 x 8 x 12-foot sculpture Impossible House with salvaged wood and windows. | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James

A still photograph from the video <i>The Invention of Morel pages 89-91,</i> a composite of two videos that match shot for shot, one video of the room intact and another of the room as it is smashed. In the installation, the two videos would be projected simultaneously (with two different projectors) onto the same projection screen. — A still photograph from the video The Invention of Morel pages 89-91, a composite of two videos that match shot for shot, one video of the room intact and another of the room as it is smashed. In the installation, the two videos would be projected simultaneously (with two different projectors) onto the same projection screen. | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James

Another still from <i>The Invention of Morel pages 89-91.</i> — Another still from The Invention of Morel pages 89-91. | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James

A third still from <i>The Invention of Morel pages 89-91.</i> — A third still from The Invention of Morel pages 89-91. | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James

<i>Corridor,</i> a work from 2009, was created from dry-cleaning conveyors and vinyl. It is 15 x 10 x 7.5 feet in size. — Corridor, a work from 2009, was created from dry-cleaning conveyors and vinyl. It is 15 x 10 x 7.5 feet in size. | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James

<i>See Through Installation</i> — See Through Installation | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James

<i>A stand of roadside cholla against which small birds had been driven by the storm and there impaled</i> (2010) — A stand of roadside cholla against which small birds had been driven by the storm and there impaled (2010) | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James. Lamp, light bulb, grow light, wood, sand, cacti, magic sculpt, crow wings, crow skull, plastic, acrylic paint, glass, oil paint, rocks, mirror. Cacti: 79 x 20 x 25.5 inches; window: 48 x 40 x 12 inches.

<i>A stand of roadside cholla against which small birds had been driven by the storm and there impaled</i> (2010) — A stand of roadside cholla against which small birds had been driven by the storm and there impaled (2010) | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James. Lamp, light bulb, grow light, wood, sand, cacti, magic sculpt, crow wings, crow skull, plastic, acrylic paint, glass, oil paint, rocks, mirror. Cacti: 79 x 20 x 25.5 inches; window: 48 x 40 x 12 inches.

<i>See-Through</i> (8 x 7 x 9 feet) was created with salvaged wood and windows. — See-Through (8 x 7 x 9 feet) was created with salvaged wood and windows. | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James

<i>Cuckoo 1 (Talking)</i> (2010) — Cuckoo 1 (Talking) (2010) | Photograph courtesy of Meredith James. Wood, cuckoo, metronome, thread. 9 x 3.5 x 2 inches.

The photographs above present additional images of work by artist Meredith James ’04, whose creations “show parallels between the world you imagine in your mind and the world we inhabit,” according to a Montage article in the November-December 2011 issue of Harvard Magazine. Distorting architectural space and playing with perceptions, James’s videos are inspired by the works of Surrealists such as Jean Cocteau, as well as by literary science-fiction novels. Watch three of her videos below: Day Shift, Door Sculpture, and Present Time.

Day Shift:

Door Sculpture:

Present Time:

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