Decimate Mesh

Decimate Mesh.
2016. 3D Prints, Video.

This series of altered videos and photogrammetric sculptures implicates post-internet spectatorship as a catalyst for mediated and gaslit iconoclasm. An ISIS propaganda video quickly disseminated by Twitter bots and global news outlets shows the hand and hammer destruction of Assyrian and Hatrene sculptures at the Mosul Museum in northern Iraq. The video presents ideological contradiction; professing iconoclasm while generating new images of a previously quiet collection of objects. The presumed and actualized audience for this spectacle simultaneously becomes aware of and ensnared in the sculptures’ demise.

Woodring alters and re-presents several shots from the video. In earlier works from the series, he digitally paints out the perpetrators of the destruction, leaving looped moments of reclaimed agency for the sculptures who now appear to be tearing tarps off themselves to reveal their faces. The 3d-printed sculptures are built using only the pixels supplied by the video through a photogrammetry process. The accuracy of each print is therefore dependent on its allotted screen time in the video.

a centered, wide angle photo showing 3 walls of a 4 wall video installation at White Box Gallery in Portland, Oregon. The four walls each show one unique clip from an ISIS propaganda video of the destruction of artifacts at the Mosul Museum in Iraq, except in this version the scenes have, through visual effects manipulation, been emptied of the targeted artifacts.a centered, wide angle photo showing 3 walls of a 4 wall video installation at White Box Gallery in Portland, Oregon. The two side walls are flush with videos that have been mapped to their exact dimensions, while the 3/4 wall perpendicular to the camera is partially obstructed by several layers of 9 feet by 12 feet clear plastic tarps that partially refract and blur the projected image that comes from a ceiling mounted projector. The four walls each show one unique clip from an ISIS propaganda video of the destruction of artifacts at the Mosul Museum in Iraq, except in this version the scenes have, through visual effects manipulation, been emptied of the targeted artifacts. The exception is the video on the far wall behind the tarps. This video shows a sculpture appearing to unveil itself.A still from a video clip of a standing sculpture partially shrouded by the thick plastic covering draped on it. The video is a 2 second loop of a scene from an ISIS propaganda video showing the destruction of artifacts at the Mosul Museum. In this version, the human perpetrators have been removed. The statue appears to be magically throwing off its own semi-transparent protective material to reveal itself.A still from a video clip showing a sculpture of Venus, partially occluded by the thick plastic covering draped on it. The video is a 5 second loop of a scene from an ISIS propaganda video showing the destruction of artifacts at the Mosul Museum. In this version, the human perpetrators have been removed. The statue appears to be magically throwing off its own semi-transparent protective material to reveal itself.a medium close up image of a full color 3D print of a seated figure atop a white pedestal and white wall. The figure, barely recognizable as such due to the aging of the original sculpture and the lossy process of photogrammetry, appears draped in fabric and staring forward. The 3D print appears incomplete, with only one half in color and the other a jagged black color.a medium close up side view of a full color 3D print of a seated figure atop a white pedestal and white wall. The figure, barely recognizable as such due to the aging of the original sculpture and the lossy process of photogrammetry, appears draped in fabric and staring forward. The 3D print appears incomplete, with only one half in color and the other a jagged black color.a full color 3D print of a wall hangs on a blank white wall. The jagged surface of the 3D print and the several inch hole in its center are both carryovers from the photogrammetry process used in its creation.An abstract, full color 3D print on a white pedestal in front of a white wall roughly the size of an oversized boot and with a protrusion like a snout. Grayish green with dashes of black.a white silk banner with UV prints on it that appear puzzle-like in size and abstraction.

2000 year old sculpture alerts world to its demise. Altered Video. 2015. 2-second loop. Dimensions variable.

Video Description: An appropriated video of a standing sculpture under a thick, semi-transparent plastic wrap that appears, through the aid of visual effects, to repeatedly fling the tarp off itself.

statue of Venus begins its disrobe. Altered Video. 2015. 5-second loop. Dimensions variable.

Video Description: An appropriated video of a monochrome sculpture of Venus under a thick, semi-transparent plastic wrap that appears, through the aid of visual effects, to push the tarp away from itself.  The sculpture and main action takes place screen-left while other works of art, as well as a couple of mallets, can be seen amongst the smooth, off-white floors and walls.

Non-Manifold. 2016. 4-Channel video installation. Size variable.

Video Description: A handheld medium wide shot in a museum room showing a plain-clothed man in a white shirt and brown pants approach a stout, white pedestal with a red top. He pushes the air above the pedestal and quickly paces towards something else in the room.

Installation View. Non-Manifold. 2016. 4-Channel video installation. Size variable.

Video Description: A 360 degree panning shot from a tripod0mounted video camera documenting a four-channel video installation in a room where overhead projectors map each wall with a full-bleed video, creating an immersive panorama of moving images. Three of the walls show clips from an ISIS propaganda video detailing the destruction of artifacts at the Mosul Museum in Iraq. In this appropriated version the scenes have, through visual effects manipulation, been emptied of the targeted artifacts to highlight the theatricality of the perpetrators’ movements. The fourth wall shows the work 2000 year old sculpture alerts world to its demise projected through several clear tarps that refract and soften the image.

Exhibitions:

  • Decimate Mesh. Duplex Collective. Portland, OR. (solo)
  • Portland Biennial (multiple venues). Curated by Michelle Grabner