Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation
Board of Directors, Toronto
Press Release
Lost in Contemplum is the latest in a series of installations by Faith La Rocque, which seeks to explore conceptions of healing, hope, technology and truth in relation to alternative health therapies. La Rocque is interested in the commodified, performative and intangible aspects of health and ‘well-being' in contemporary global culture. Recently, the artist presented euphoria at Toronto's Convenience Gallery. This work featured multiple, "emotionally stimulating," SAD therapy light-boxes on 24-hour display to passers-by. The impact of these devices remained immeasurable despite their persistent glow.
Lost in Contemplum investigates further such contemporary fusions of healing and technology, and their efficaciousness. In this site-specific work, La Rocque culls ideas and materials from a variety of sources to create an unexpected architecture of experience. Here visitors encounter suspended groves of silver eucalyptus and sweet grass; a magnetized column, ceiling and doorway; an unfurling expanse of white yoga mat; and a gravity-defying fountain filled with a frothy deposit of acidic green matcha tea. A ‘negative ion generator' - a machine purported to increase feelings of contentment - operates on the sidelines inconspicuously.
Ultimately, for La Rocque, the process of healing requires ’blind faith’. Health is neither a guarantee nor is it, in some cases, achievable. It is invisible, miraculous and transformative. In Lost in Contemplum, La Rocque manipulates materials to great effect, and by so doing, she challenges the wisdom, conventions, outcomes and products made available to us in our pursuit of health.
-Chloë Fraser
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation view
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation detail
Column from film set of "The Love Guru", plywood, magnetic paint, plastic sheet, rare earth magnet, text
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation view
Bentonite clay wall-work, sweetgrass, yoga mat
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation detail
Bentonite clay
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation view
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation detail
Fountain comprised of plastic bucket, pump, matcha, copper pipe, pvc tubing, rare earth magnets
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation detail
Doorway molding, magnetic paint
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation detail
Eucalyptus
Lost in Contemplum, 2009
Installation detail
Postcard, thumbtack, rare-earth magnet
Documentation by Walter Willems