(Anti) Plumb Lines

(Anti) Plumb Lines

From the Studio | 2020 | Ongoing

An elemental theme in my work is the blue plumb line, a tool comprised of a weight on a string used by builders to erect walls in true vertical relation to a horizontal plane. In my work, the plumb line functions as a contemplative metaphor for truth, activating the complex ways we perceive and understand objective and subjective truths. The idea of a true vertical line that can anchor, measure and orient how we navigate space undergirds the built environment. I’ve employed material processes to create large-scale lines in space made with steel, gold leaf, plastic, wire, stucco, latex and powdered pigment. Each line deviates from true vertical to features its own twists, turns, bends, bifurcations and unique form. The lines can be exhibited in groups or as singular sculptural works.

error: © 2003-2020 Jill Downen