David Ersser produces cold, meticulous models of electrical appliances, tools and domestic objects. Assembled from balsa, the least majestic of woods, in a dead pan and un-dramatic way, the work owes more to the culture of the enthusiast model maker than the great history of carved sculpture.
This, Ersser’s first solo show, is the initial realisation of an ongoing project that involves the replication of the objects that surround the artist. As such, the artist’s desk from his studio, his tools, equipment, detritus, chair, keys and his half finished ‘artworks’ themselves, are all presented in the gallery space, in a one-to-one scale, lifeless tableaux.
Implicit within each object is the user, as a synthesizer’ keyboard, a power tool, or even a bonsai tree, all necessitate the existence of a user’s hand. Ersser’s facsimiles, however, are removed from circulation. Their use-value removed by their fragility, they stand in for the real object, inert and impotent mementos. The nerd-ish mode of production also serves to highlight the artist’s geeky fetishism for the objects, which is only heightened and highlighted by the removal of function. While the monotone work might appear flawless from a distance, the thin electrical cable running from the stereo to the plug gives the semblance of a curve, but is made up of short, awkward sections of straight balsa. Scrutiny reveals the maker’s hand.
Forthcoming shows include Roebling Hall, NY (solo project) and Lucky Loft, Hamburg (group).
David Ersser, Broom, 2006
Balsa wood
118 x 57 x 90 cm
David Ersser, Chopsaw, 2006
Balsa wood
49 x 38 x 69 cm
David Ersser, Space is the Place, 2006 (detail)
Balsa wood
400 x 241 x 485 cm
David Ersser, Neon, Do Me Baby, 2006
Balsa wood
178 x 195 x 67 cm
David Ersser, Scalpel, 2006
Balsa wood
21 x 5 x 5 cm
David Ersser, Space is the Place, 2006 (detail)
Balsa wood
400 x 241 x 485 cm
David Ersser, Space is the Place, 2006
Balsa wood
400 x 241 x 485 cm
David Ersser, Space is the Place, 2006 (detail)
Balsa wood
400 x 241 x 485 cm