As We Pull the Earth Toward Ourselves

Yvette James
As We Pull The Earth Toward Ourselves creates a space in which objects hang in balance and give rise to a hierarchical flip between body and object. Yvette James aims to impede on the space the body inhabits to create a transfer of tension. As magnets strain against the architecture, the body strains against its relationship with the magnets. This attraction toward the object is confronted with the fear of interrupting its balance. The charge within the empty void creates a tension inside viewer, from which they reflect on the fragility of equilibrium and become highly aware of their physicality within the space. The space the viewer inhabits threatens the work; and thus, the viewer is threatened by the work.

Yvette James is a Melbourne/Naarm based artist and a Fine Art student at Monash University. Working with installation, James responds to an emotional relation between artist, artwork and viewer. By manipulating the way a viewer moves through the space, James’ work focuses on personal philosophies on consciousness, alongside psychological and emotional theory.

Images | Yvette James, Chaos Creates Obstructions, Order Accelerates the Flow, 2018, installation, Dimensions Variable| Courtesy the artist.