Old Man 2017

 

Unfolding as a vertical cross-section of a fictional field of pure potentiality, this work presents layered strata reminiscent of oceanic depths, geological formations, or the delicate membranes of human skin. The vitrine, traditionally a device for preservation and display, is transformed into a site of impermanence, where time’s passage becomes tangible. Moisture gathers beneath the glass lid, forming droplets that fall onto the still water, only to merge and vanish. A band of brine hovers above rusting steel, its fragments slowly descending, layering themselves into sheets of iron oxide over the salt bed. Gravity, density, and corrosion choreograph this fragile theatre, evoking natural cycles of erosion and sedimentation as well as human engagement with materials through centuries—from Japanese wabi-sabi appreciation of transience to alchemical experiments in transformation and decay.

The title references the first of the four sights that led Siddhartha Gautama toward awakening: the old man, a vision of impermanence that prompted reflection on mortality. The work unfolds as a meditation on fleetingness, where matter dissolves, settles, and reforms in quiet rhythms, offering a space for contemplation. Echoes of ephemeral gestures in land art and the corroded surfaces of ancient artifacts underscore the tension between presence and absence, stability and dissolution, revealing the luminous passage of time.