Joe Culver

Thriving on science fiction and tales of dystopic realities, I’ve found my work actively resonating with the plot lines of rewritten timelines and paradoxes. I find these stories to be therapeutic exercises that help to surprise the anxiety of major ultimatums and minor everyday decisions. Every decision has a consequence, and looking down the line of possibilities gets tiring to the point where most people just stop analyzing the intricacies of their futures. Little value is placed on most “what if” situations due the slippery slope nature that follows the examination of the hypotheticals. You could construct whole parallel realities dedicated to such a discovery. Using piers as launch points into my body of work, I’m exploring the formal aspects of the bending, mirroring, and unfolding of space- time though my series of sculpture, inviting the viewer to navigate outside the traditional laws of nature. My works engage in conversations over the dualities of protection and destruction, asking if control over consequences leaves situations better for our involvement. If we are capable of change, does that implicate us as responsible parties? I employ architectural materials in my works out of pragmatism and necessity to anchor whatever reality isn’t suspended during the viewer interaction. My materials and forms stay true to their real-life counterparts, while the overall appearance borders on the absurd. If the viewer attempts to navigate these works, a sense of freeing disorientation is established, and anxiety is displaced onto the work. My procedure begins with an examination into how multiple realities would interact. I try to imagine how such worlds would look if simplified down to the very basics. Linear plot lines take the form of pathways that tell the story using their composition. The result of composition-based story telling is the proportional complexity between the form and narrative.