Piles are uninspiring and ubiquitous - we all have a pile claiming space on our desk or kitchen counter. Although piles are regarded as a mundane afterthought, this work challenges that assumption and contends piles are rich, layered archives and as I read aloud each piece in the pile to viewers, I slowly paint an individual portrait over time. I know this is absurd – reading a pile’s contents in minute detail and asking viewers in our instant gratification culture to watch me for hours as I bumble and mispronounce words. But reading these intimate details once tucked away in the ordinary in my halting delivery is awkward, beautiful, and deeply revealing. This work is painfully human and real in a hyper-curated world.
Pile Studies is a durational performative work where I read through people’s piles (think accumulated papers, mail, notes, receipts, bills, etc.) for the camera/viewer. Individuals give me their piles under two instructions: 1) they cannot review them in advance (thus no curation) and 2) they give me ground rules when reading aloud (for example, no reading of financial documents). I do not examine the piles in advance, meaning the viewer and I share the real-time experience of unearthing the individual. The piles range in various sizes with the reading duration ranging from 8 minutes to 4.5 hours. I started Pile Studies at Acre Summer Residency in 2022 where I read eleven collected piles. Most recently I read my first institutional pile as a part of making site-specific work at The Villa Terrace Art Museum. Additionally, I’ve made photogrammetry records of each pile.
Film still from Pile Study #13. 2024 at Villa Terrace Art Museum