quar•an•tine

From the Italian quaranta (forty) – quarantina (fourty days) – In the mid-17th century, the ships arriving in Venice that were suspected  of  carrying  disease  were required to sit at anchor for forty days to protect coastal cities from the plague pandemic.

Viruses are enigmatic. They question the origin of things and turn what was thought to be understood into a state of ignorance, which creates an opportunity to reconsider its original content. This study looks at the collision between intent and probability, using cement as a metaphor for the virus and its manipulation of an unaware entity. The cement attacks the inserted material, transforming its initial characteristics into something unpredictable, its new appearance opening a window to the unknown. In the pages that follow are quaranta objects made during quarantine, where the virus has been manipulated through materials to create new visual interpretations.