humans make great effort to capture and categorize for the sake of gaining knowledge. sensory experiences create in us the desire to know what it is we see, and how and why we see.  quintessence dual consists of ten boxes, five fabricated with steel and five fabricated with clear acrylic.  contained in these boxes  are the four elements: air, earth, fire, and water, and life, which is the fifth element.  the contents of the steel boxes are locked inside and unseen.  the contents of the acrylic boxes are not locked in and visible.  quintessence dual is an installation that is best viewed as a performance when the artist captures fire and life in two of the acrylic boxes.

[above:  quintessence dual.  installation-performance at basememt gallery, davis, ca (january, 1999).  steel, acrylic, air, earth, fire, water, cat.  (dimensions variable)]

© 1999 greg martin.