Artist Statement
The Agglomeration Imperative (#1) explores the profound human impulse to collect, classify, and contextualize through an intricate installation that reimagines the historical concept of the Wunderkammer. As a site-specific display at the John M. Parrott Art Gallery in Belleville, ON, in early 2017, this piece transformed three display cabinets into complex landscapes of human curiosity, each vitrine carefully curated to examine the intersections of Natural History, Mortality, and the role of the Collector/Archivist.
Drawing from the original collections of The Lyric Cranium, the installation delves into the rich history of the Cabinet of Curiosity. The three meticulously arranged themes—Natural History, Mortality, and the Archivist/Collector—unfold within each vitrine as a distinct still life. Physical objects, ephemera, books, and works on paper create a nuanced collage that oscillates between apparent disorder and compulsive organization. These carefully assembled artifacts inhabit a liminal space, challenging viewers to explore the intricate processes of collection and preservation. By extracting these objects from their original context, the work invites a provocative reëxamination of archival practices and meaning-making.
Biographical fragments of Homer C. Brunion, Griff Hornan, and their associates emerge subtly through the artifacts, weaving a narrative that illuminates the deeply personal nature of collecting. The installation interrogates the archival impulse, revealing how individual obsessions and systematic methodologies converge to create meaning. Each cabinet becomes a microcosm—a carefully constructed still life that reflects the complex human desire to understand, categorize, and make sense of the world through accumulated fragments.