By recycling the meaning and primary use of everyday objects, I hope to upset and interrupt people's thoughts and introduce my works into their minds through the effect of simple surprise. For example: transform a record turntable into a merry-go-round; turn umbrellas into flowers; change house-keys into a set of bells; metamorphose a plastic laundry basket into a cathedral rosette; convert a salad spinner into a miniature theatre; or turn something boring into candy that melts in the mind and becomes a parachute jump. These new tools for mental escapism may serve as an example to anyone who wishes to pursue such tinkering in the kitchen or during an office coffee-break.
I challenge the emotional memory's link to these objects. The moment our memory has retrieved the recollection of an object, we recall not only its formal characteristics but also our actual experience of it. The emotion generated by contact with the object is as connected to it as is its name. When we remember an object, we remember not only its sensory characteristics but also our reactions to it at the time. I seek to provoke a new, surprising relationship to known objects and thus break the usual link between our reading of an object and our memory of it. I try to engrave new emotional links into the memories of others. I seek to reconstruct this youthful ability to see fantastic animals in clouds, the unforgettable experience of our first bicycle ride.
My projects seek to subvert our outlook on life by portraying both time and our inventiveness in forgetting the passing of time.
Diane Landry
August 2007
