ENTROPY

Entropy (2018) is a collaborative work with artist Lisa Tolcher that investigates the chemical process of oxidation of organic and inorganic matter, in the forms of weeds and metals. It explores the concept of entropy, or disorder - a loss of equilibrium and control - through the disruptive chemical processes applied to natural and man-made matter.

Guided by Dr Robert Baker, Senior Lecturer in the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney, the artists experimented with the oxidation of weeds and metal objects by exposing them to organic and inorganic chemicals. Baker states: “A big difference between the two, however, is that while the weeds can exist in harmony with their ecosystem, the entropy price of making metal is paid for by the production of carbon dioxide, which may end up causing the whole house of cards to collapse.”

During Culture at Work (CAW) residency, the resulting elements have been combined by both artists into immersive sculptural and video installations that reveals the balancing act of life and death that is at the heart of entropy, transforming the CAW environment into a cathartic space for perform- active, creative and environmental artworks.

In the backyard, environmental weeds and rusted metals were exposed to the natural elements of sun, light and rain while in the glasshouse studio several collectable and creative botanical objects were displayed.

In the Accelerator gallery, akin to the Greek myth of Psyche who tentatively sorts life out of chaos, the artists meticulously ordered and re-ordered oxidised piles of metal and urban and environmental weeds including the prolific Cardiospermum vine with its seeds, pods, stems, wielding them into sculptural arrangements and collating video footage. Concluding in CAW’s main gallery, the ephemeral, immersive installation of organic and inorganic elements is the heart of the Entropy project where the viewer can experience the visualisation of an ordered suspended chaos.