diaspore, 2

2014
Video installation

Seeds, branches, and leaves traverse the wall in Diaspore—a title that plays upon the phenomenon of plants disseminating their spores, as well as the distribution of people and cultures across the world. The familiar motion of rustling leaves is mesmerizing, as Steinkamp uses technology to link natural and human concerns. Blowing in clusters across the wall, as if captured by the wind, collections of floral debris gather together and then fall apart. The illusion of free passage breaks down as architecture arrests the movement of the tumbleweeds, like the borders that frequently block diaspora.

Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong

Jennifer Steinkamp (American, b. 1958), Diaspore, 2, 2014. Video installation, 12’ x 21’ 5” (3.66 x 6.27 m)