The Fullness of Empty Pockets Colleen Altagracia

Expanding casting foam that fills and then sets in people's empty clothing pockets whilst being worn, moulding to their body shape, is the central ingredient in Colleen Altagracia's exhibition The Fullness of Empty Pockets.

Altagracia's interest in seemingly inconsequential actions, and then reactions, has led her initially to explore bubbles, such as bubble-gum and soap bubbles, and more recently the use of casting foam. One of the works in the exhibition is a DVD showing the process of people having their pockets filled with the foam. She will also perform the work on March 22 as part of the Dunedin Fringe Festival performance series.

"The foam works are like living sculpture. I wanted to record the moment of interaction when the empty space of the pocket suddenly fills with the foam and the performers' response to it. It is about the politics and the potential of space, looking at the moment when something is about to happen or has just taken place," she says.

"The materials I use are generally ephemeral in nature, so they have a perceived notion of having no great importance and therefore being valueless. Embracing the marginal and the excluded makes the invisible visible."

Along with the DVD the exhibition included an installation made of hand knotted facial tissues, a sculpture made from one of the pieces of clothing worn in the DVD which appears to have been sculpted on the body, and drawings that explore the idea of drawing as an action.

View a part of the performance (Vimeo)

Click to download the exhibition text (PDF)

Presented alongside Andy Leleisi'uao Arytipidal and Clare Fleming At once we are rootless and harbouring, floating on an inland sea (I am from here)