Parallel Occurrence

Aluminum fox with aluminum letter, iron chain, iron block, closet, table, three newspapers* / Dimensions variable
The Art Institute of Chicago (purchased with funds provided by The Buddy Taub Foundation, Jill and Dennis A. Roach, Directors)

*Newspaper with Fives (1999)
Rotation print on paper, 20 pages / 47 x 31.5 cm / Edition of 100,000
Courtesy Roma Publications, Amsterdam
*Newspaper with Fives (2001)
Rotation print on paper, 20 pages / 41.5 x 29 cm / Edition of 150,000
Courtesy Roma Publications, Amsterdam
*Tokyo Newspaper (2001)
Offset print on paper, 16 pages / 40 x 27.3 cm / Edition of 10,000
Courtesy Roma Publications, Amsterdam

MM: Once you’ve realized on a deep level that there are empty spaces in the human world in which you can show things in their naked form, you just can’t let go of that idea anymore. It is amazing that such a phenomenon has taken shape in the course of our evolution. Seen from an evolutionary perspective, art is something very special. It is a space which—by agreement—exists within, as well as right beside, our world. It is a window-like magical room where you can place things or allow things to happen. Art makes it possible to experience things directly. Especially sculpture has an interesting relationship to time. For me, it is the most beautiful language that exists. The way a sculpture can represent a frozen moment, something you can copy-paste to another space, an object that relates to you both physically and mentally—it is simply fantastic. In Parallel Occurrence I was looking for a way to express the gesture of handing over an envelope and the idea that the meaning of a message lies in the way it is transmitted. It is a construction left behind by someone, intended to be read by someone else. At first I wanted the work to be outdoors: a short, three-dimensional phrase hung high up in a tree. In the end, though, I decided it would work better inside. I wanted the massive aluminum envelope to be at the height it would be were it being given to someone. I used three newspapers to protect the cupboard and table against the hard metal of the iron chain on which the fox is hung.