Cornelia Parker. Cold Dark Matter - An Exploded View

Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View consists of a garden shed and its various miscellaneous contents, which have been blown up by the army. The exploded shed is suspended from the ceiling of the gallery with a single light source at its centre. The various pieces of shed and contents are hung as if in mid-explosion in the shape of a cube (4m x 4m x 4m approx.) The central light source of the piece casts shadows of the miscellaneous fragments across the gallery walls, heightening the dramatic dynamic of the work.

The work parodies the Big Bang; the beginning of the universe as a bench experiment in a garden shed. From the initial blast, matter flies out in the form of the shed’s everyday contents. This constellation of domestic appliances, sporting equipment, household objects, gifts and purchases are not exactly examples of the pinnacle of human development and civilization, but are at least a part of its copious inventiveness and folly.

Cornelia Parker was born in Cheshire in 1956 and lives and works in London. She studied at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, Wolverhampton Polytechnic and Reading University.

Cornelia Parker. Cold Dark Matter - An Exploded View