About the Artist
Stephen-Bernard Derek Callender (born April 5, 1991) is a Caribbean Afro-American Artist whose work investigates the embedded data of objects, and how the process of archiving constructs a narrative around them. Stephens received his B.A. in Sculpture and Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University, and his M.F.A focusing in sculpture at The University of Texas At Austin. His work has been exhibited in the states as well as internationally, being among the first African American artists to show work in Guangzhou, China.
Artist's Statement
I often think to myself, "how many of us still wonder[1]". When we stare at mountains do we ponder how they've formed, or as we peer out of skyscrapers, how all human civilization came to be. As an artist my desire is to explore this sensation within myself, and incite its presence within those around me.
By navigating the superpositioned[2] space between that which is known and unknown, and exploring the continuity between Magic, Science, Religion, History, and a space I call “The Ground”[3]; My sculptures represent the realm where these ethereal spaces begin to coalesce. Believing that words truly lack the ability to fully articulate the systems around us, I find value in investigating the feeling or hunch[4], seeing these intuitive interpretations of reality as an opportunity to call into question our accepted systems of understanding. Ultimately, my work seeks to use this destabilization as a means to stimulate adaptation, develop criticality, and shape a better society.
My practice is one of research and experimentation that manifests as performance, diagrams, object collections, and object reordering through the process of archiving. Borrowing from the visual language of museological exhibits, crating, and industrial architecture, the work makes use of "containers”[5] that resemble museum or scientific displays. Often made of O.S.B. these constructs synthesize video documentation with found and fabricated objects, and are at times activated through performative action. The work magnifies in on the intersectional[6] narratives of our existence, and reveals a permeable network between seemingly disparate “things”[7]. By calling into question ideas of artifact and fabrication, the it asks for the reconsideration of assumed truths, Challenging its viewers to rethink the things they thought they knew about the world around us.................................
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[1] - desire or be curious to know something.
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[2] - A space fluctuating between established points. The situation in quantum mechanics where two or more states are added together to yield another valid state; -Quantum Physics (Also refer to the Japanese word Ma (negative space))
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[3] - The foundational substance that everything is drawn from and constructed of; (comparable to but not synonymous with Initial singularity – Big Bang)
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[4] - A feeling or guess based on intuition rather than known facts.
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[5] - An object or symbol that can be used to hold or transport something be it physical or conceptual. Box or case but also words and artifacts. Also consider the concept of the stand in.
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[6] - A point at which two or more “things” intersect. The interconnected nature of object histories and narratives; also comparing to and referencing social Intersectionality.
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[7] Borrowing from Heidegger's distinction between objects and things. An object that has transcended common function, and finds value beyond its utilitarian purpose; reference “Thing Theory”.
