2017.3.A-N Nina Canell, Midsentence

In her sculptural installations, Nina Canell explores systems of interconnectivity. Working with the physical phenomena of electricity, infrasound, and time, Canell creates material and linguistic associations that draw relationships between them. Mid-Sentence features optical fiber cables that can be found buried beneath the sea. These cables are typically responsible for long-distance telecommunication or for providing high-speed data connections between different parts of the world. In this sculptural state, fragments of cables exposing their innards are presented as raw specimens. In other instances in the installation, coils of their protective plastic casing can be found melted together, emphasizing their mutability as a material but also signifying an end to any functional capability. The purpose of the small machine plugged into the wall, separately titled Foam-Skin Insulated Jelly Filled Vowel, remains unknown. It conjures the feeling that you are being exposed to some physically undetect­able energy or frequency. In their daily use, optical cables transfer data at the speed of light—299,792,458 meters per second—and are designed to speed up deci­sions and transactions across the globe. The work’s title Mid-Sentence perhaps proposes an omission, a pause, a stumble in this data transmission. 

Apply to objects where number equals 2017.3.A-N