Sarah Sabin
Profile
Of Gunpowder and Gold (limited edition of 50): Commissioned by firstsite for the opening of the new gallery 2011.
Presentation box in card with black buckram paper and embossed text on lid. Individually signed and numbered by the artist.
297x260x38mm
Box Contains:-
Artist's Book, with essay by Jordan Kaplan; milled building material and wax formed into pellet, on a glass dish contained in airtight capsule ; 2 digital prints on architecture paper of X.R.F analysis of the pellet; laser cut, gold leafed object on card.
'These objects represent unique, tiny slices of Colchester’s history, a perfect gift for art lovers, archaeologists and historians alike!' - firstsite
Available from the firstsite shop. www.firstsite.uk.net
As work on the building began, firstsite commissioned artist Sarah Sabin to respond to the process of its construction.
Using laboratory facilities at at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, she investigated the site of the new building, collecting samples of the infill material – sourced from the demolition of the nearby Colchester Garrison – used to build up firstsite’s construction site. The artist was particularly interested in the fact that the new building was supported by infill material from the garrison, and the long term relationship between the town and this other presence.
The samples Sabin collected were crushed and milled into a powder then compacted in wax pellets. Each unique pellet was analysed in an x-ray fluorescence machine to reveal the substances it contains. Data that could not be captured by the machine was subjected by Sabin to a more playful, speculative analysis.
Of Gunpowder and Gold explores our reliance on trusting scientific results and facts. Is the data analysis from each of Sabin’s pellets true or has she fabricated elements to imbue them with new narratives?
Of gunpowder and gold (installation, firstsite 2011)
Tubiswick 2010 (detail) Crushed and milled burnt wood. Glass:
A house connected to Daniel Defoe, destroyed by fire.
Fine Milling (residence) 2009 (photo of the artist by Doug Atfield):
House building debris was crushed and fine milled.The remains reveal unexpected traces
'Doorknobs'; permanent installation commissioned by Greenfields community housing for new H.Q building 2009. Photo - Doug Atfield
2009 'The astromomers hoard', UCL, detail
2009 'The astromomers hoard', UCL, detail
2009 'The astromomers hoard', UCL
'Corbel' 2009. UCL Institute of Archaeology residency
'Spindle' 2009 UCL Institute of Archaeology residency
STATEMENT:
In her work for both exhibitions, and in projects with the public, Sarah Sabin has become known for her playful gathering and reassembling of histories.
Using a wide range of media she has made work ranging from small, delicate highly crafted objects to large site specific installations.
Her previous commissions include:- Essex County council, Colchester borough council, Firstsite, and Commissions East.
She has recently completeted in 2009, two commissioned permanently sited artworks for The new H.Q of Greenfields community housing, Braintree. One of 5m high, comprises of 864 porcelain doorknobs with images fired into the surface.
She has exhibitied in venues including:- Gainsborough’s house , Firstsite, and UCL institute of Archaeology (all solo) and the Foundling museum, London (group).
Quotes and texts about Sarah Sabin
"Archives, collections, found/discarded objects, hidden histories are pieces of puzzles that artist Sarah Sabin enjoys discovering, dissecting and putting back together again…Her playfulness and understanding of subject matter and facts allows Sabin to reinterpret and suggest other narratives through archaeological methods of discovery and representation which for me contains a sense of theatre, in particular her 'Wall Excavations'.
These excavations into what lies behind seemingly ordinary walls are enchanting; they appear utterly fictitious and something of a day dream, they echo fairytales and mythology, Narnia and the Secret Garden. ..
Sabin's ability to engage with a variety of 'crafts' means that traditional museum approaches of object displays and their preconceived boundaries are broken wide open. Her work is filled to the brim with memories; not just our own but those belonging to the objects and the stories that accompany them."
Excerpt of review of Sarah Sabin's work - Charlie Levine June 2008. for Axis 'Artist of the month'
www.axisweb.org/artistofthemonth (see archive june 08)
"A new taxonomy subverts the usual one in the museum. Sarah Sabin has created elements which, through the force of their attention to detail and compelling near-credibility, allows us to infer a story. She has given us the props and invites us to create the script and outcome."
Excerpt from Essay by Gill Hedley in ‘RSVP’ - Contemporary artists at the foundling Museum’ catalogue, London 2007, for Commissions East.
"Sarah Sabin's work is borne out of a playful dialogue between art and archaeology, involving fake relics, false digs and fictitious places. At once warmly intriguing yet uncannily alien and stubbornly impenetrable, her hand-made pseudo artefacts, fashioned to appear as though recently unearthed, toy with sober notions of truth and authenticity."
Excerpt from "Preconceiving histories, the work of Sarah Sabin" Matthew Poole for Firstsite, 2002.
Also see this on www.axisweb.org/artist/sarahsabin (and click on blue 'Open Frequency' button to see my work nominated by Freddie Robins and reviewed By Liz Aston in 2006)
"I really enjoy her interests and references, and the very 'human' approach that she takes in her practice."
Freddie Robins 2006 for ‘Axis’