I am enamored with old materials; their previous life is interesting to me. There’s satisfaction in re-using an object, pushing back obsolescence, if only a little. Each object carries a secret history, partly known, partly imagined, as evidenced by the physical marks left from events. Historical ephemera become witness to these moments.
When is it okay to alter evidence? Does it wait until the bystanders and survivors are gone before it denies what happened?
The work in this show is mainly made with salvaged materials. Finding inspiration from the philosophy of Walter Gropius, one of the founders of the Bauhaus School, and from Brutalist aesthetics, I’ve imposed patterns, textures and surface treatments on old objects or material. While I feel reverence for how these forsaken materials have weathered, I also poison them with modern elements that may change or even erase their history.
Synthetic elements, jarring contrasts, or manipulated surfaces challenge the pasts of these source materials and at times overwrite them. The resulting tension of past and present is my response to our government’s manipulation of historical records. When governments distort or censor the past for convenience or control, the truth is critically eroded. My intention with this work is to meet these reckless acts with contempt that is both peaceful and playful.
Mary e Clark is a Portland-based creative working in mixed materials for 30 years. Her experience lies in both professional and private practices of making. Her personal work is informed by material knowledge gained during her professional life in themed entertainment, specifically stop-motion animation and amusement park attraction production. She attended California State University in Northridge, finishing a Bachelor of Art degree with a focus in Illustration. In 2005 she completed a Certificate of Craft in Metals from the Oregon College of Art & Craft. Her time at OCAC marks a significant shift from a 2D to 3 dimensional practice.
Clark’s sculptural vocabulary is realized through the industrial arts. Her affinity for wood, metal, and concrete is accompanied by a curiosity in commercial processes. She uses 3D printing, CNC cutting and carving and laser cutting as tools for pattern and surface treatments.
In 2006 Clark was one of four artists that developed Nowhere Gallery: a camping trailer outfitted as a mobile art installation space. Nowhere Gallery was parked in front of the 2006 Biennial at Portland Art Museum for First Thursday, transforming the space into a miniature museum. In 2016 Clark started Incidental Creative Services LLC to offer fabrication services to local makers and artists.