Cornelia Parker Analysis - Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View

“Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View” (1991).






Parker has employed numerous methods of exploration – suspending, exploding, imploding, crushing and stretching. My personal favourite of her pieces is “Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View” (1991).

For this installation, Parker had the British Army blow up a garden shed. As they did this she took pictures of the explosion process. She then collected the destroyed pieces and rearranged them to match the image. Parker suspended them and placed a light in the centre to show the source of the destruction. The piece she created looks as if she has froze time mid-explosion. The light in the centre casts shadows of the rubble around the room, which the damage appears to be more than it actually is. If there were no shadows cast, I think the explosion would have had less of an effect as it looks less dramatic. She has created an illusion of more rubble by this. I appreciate how she, in most of her work, can almost defy gravity by making the suspension of her objects look non-existent.

Although Parkers work shows the destruction and horrific reality of war, I feel as if it represents the imploding of body and mind. To me it shows a mental breakdown after holding something in for too long, then this is the result of letting it out; it damages everyone and everything around it.

I would like to show aspects of Parkers work throughout mine such as how the mind can implode. I hope to show this the same way she does how she creates a froze-in-time illusion.