
Way Over There Inside Me (A Festival of Inches)
2022
Torkwase Dyson's "Way Over There Inside Me (A Festival of Inches)," created in 2022, presents an expansive installation that meticulously transforms the gallery space into an immersive environment. The artwork features four distinct glass and steel sculptures, each a substantial volume of 78 x 42 x 84 inches, crafted from black-tempered glass and black-coated steel. These monolithic forms are strategically arranged to create a dynamic interplay of solid mass and reflective surfaces, their subtle translucence capturing and distorting the surrounding light and the gallery's stark white walls, while their dark surfaces absorb light and cast deep shadows. Interspersed among these substantial blocks are two elongated, angular frames fashioned from black-coated steel and aluminum. Each of these conduits, stretching 125 x 288 ⅝ x 4 inches, slices through the space, defining pathways and creating an open, architectural dialogue with the more substantial glass components, inviting viewers to navigate and experience spatial relationships in a profound way. Dyson's practice frequently investigates the intersections of architecture, infrastructure, and the politics of space, particularly concerning Black geographies and environmental justice. "Way Over There Inside Me (A Festival of Inches)" extends these inquiries, using abstract forms to evoke complex systems of movement, containment, and liberation. The juxtaposition of solid, reflective glass and open, linear frames speaks to the permeable boundaries and invisible structures that shape human experience, challenging perceptions of scale and distance. The installation hints at both the vastness of systemic forces and the intimate, corporeal experience of navigating them. Through its meticulous arrangement of geometric forms, the artwork prompts contemplation on how spaces are constructed, controlled, and ultimately, how they influence individual and collective agency, a journey both physical and internal, measured in precise increments yet encompassing profound meaning.
- Medium
- Black-coated steel and aluminum, black-tempered glass
- Location
- Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, IL
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