Installations - June Ahrens

In Depth

In Depth 2009 Site Dependent Installation 30 Feet x 17 Feet 3 Inches Acrylic Mirror, Light In Depth 2009 Site Dependent Installation 30 Feet x 17 Feet 3 Inches Acrylic Mirror, Light	In Depth - You can describe a wave as no beginning and no end, birth and death………Looking deeply, we can see that the waves are at the same time water…….seeking there own true nature…..the nature of nondiscrimination, of no birth, of no death, of no being and of no non-being.” - Thich Nhat Hanh Review: “...and installations such as June Ahrens’s “In Depth,’’ in which a rotating light over a floor covered in mirror shards casts a spectacle of reflections on the wall…..” - Cate McQuaid Boston Globe Correspondent / September 11, 2009 In Depth (detail)

Hiding in Plain Site 2008
14 1/2 feet diameter
Broken mirror, rotating light, felt

Hiding in Plain Site (detail)

Hiding in Plain Site 2008
14 1/2 feet diameter
Broken mirror, rotating light, felt

Hiding in Plain Site - 9/11 changed my life as I knew it and impacted that of millions of others. In response to that event, Hiding in Plain Site elicits feelings of danger, anger, loss, and vulnerability. Still and film images of 9/11, as presented through mass media, left us with lasting imprints of that day.

A site-specific installation, Hiding In Plain Site is a private performance that is physically and creatively challenging, and changes with each new installation, incorporating broken mirrors and rotating light. The surface of this installation produces fragmented images as if to contain and absorb them. The rotating light may be viewed as ambiguous, bringing attention to ourselves or others at the moment we see the reflections or, perhaps, acting as a trigger to generate past experiences.

This installation also invites one to consider the open-endedness of the work as a possible need for social ritual and political discourse. Today, the "reflections" continue to embrace us individually as well as those in the world around us.

Loudness of Silence at Branchville Gallery 2005
pin holes, punctures forms, pins

CLICK HERE
to view a short video of the project

The Loudness of Silence is a site-specific installation that finds its roots in clues culled from earlier series. Loss, pain, vulnerability, and danger continue to play a role in this work. New elements have surfaced, exposing deeper internal and external forces, a kind of residue of life’s experiences. There is a constant shifting or “visual dance” that occurs, coupled with the unexpected landscape, provided by the gallery itself. While it explores fear and hope, the installation has no single interpretation, but it is an opportunity for self-reflection.

Loudness of Silence (detail)
pin holes, punctures forms, pins - 2005

Safety pins have been one of the major materials used in my work for several years. In The Loudness of Silence, the pins have been deconstructed even further, the size of the pin holes/punctures have been increased, and the hot glue stick has been used to create additional forms and shapes.

Art New England REVIEW

Loudness of Silence (corner view)
pin holes, punctures forms, pins - 2005

Loudness of Silence at Branchville Gallery - 2005

I am indebted to the gallery for their support for allowing me to “fly” and activate the architecture of this most unique and unusual gallery space.

Like the earlier work, the pins and holes take on an obsessive spirit and are made instinctually on the wall until form and shape start to emerge. The surface of the wall acts like a canvas, and provides the absolute integration of foreground and background.

Loudness of Silence (detail)
Window view outside of gallery
pin holes, punctures forms, pins - 2005

The Pillow Project is a result of my investigation into the personal and intimate. A pillow can hold the lifetime of an individual, creating a portrait, layer upon layer, year after year. There is a certain level of comfort or a feeling of "home" that is created when we connect ourselves with this familiar object. The idea is to tap into this emotion and create an environment of "pillowness".

The Pillow Project - room size / varies
used pillows, feathers, polyfil, video - 2001

The Pillow Project - detail

"What is my attraction to everyday materials that people have used and would otherwise throw away? Why do I solicit the work of others? They come to me as gifts, as intimate extensions of their daily experiences. I then integrate these fragments, and somehow the imprint of each person, the exchange of feeling, thought and idea, becomes an unseen force in my work."

June Ahrens

The Pillow Project - detail

Outside In is a series of three installation pieces. I have also titled them individually; "Serenity", "Easily Broken" and "Changing".

This is an installation that continues to grow and develop. The pieces can be shown together or as individual works depending on the site. The sizes can also vary in respect to the site.

Whether shown separately or together, this work reflects my ongoing concerns with fragility, loss, healing and survival.

Ms. Ahrens has received the 1999 Distinguished Advocate for the Arts Award and in 2000 received an Individual Arts Award both from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. She has also received grants from Polaroid, Duracell International, and the National Endowment for the Arts

Serenity - approx. 11' diameter
Feathers, polyfil - 2000

detail

Easily Broken - approx. 11' diameter eggshells, salt - 2001

detail

Changing - approx. 10 - 11' diameter
decayed roses, live roses - 2001

detail

Side By Side - 1995
8" x 6" x 1"
used soap dish, rag

Life is but a Dream - 1997
36" x 80" x 48"
metal springs, pillows, text on paper

“Who Will Remember”
A powerful display of installations that attempted successfully, to put faces and names to the homeless and unclaimed among us. Particularly powerful was a large wall installation Ahrens constructed from bars of used soap that may have been used by people living in shelters.”
Steve Starger, Hartford Journal

Staying Afloat - 1995
30" x 24" x 24"
used table, glass, water, soap

Still Hanging On - 1998
36" diameter x 18"
used pillow, wood

Holey Soap - 1995
12" x 6" x 4"
used soap, rag

On The Edge - 1996
28" x 3" x 3"
used razor blade, bone

Used And Worn - 1996
6' x 8' - soap, metal, river rock

“I gasped at the power of these works. Not meant
to be beauty, they are a cry, a scream, a plea; they reach for understanding, for help, for an end to their desperation.
I was pulled into them physically. “

Carole Cole Manasevit
Fairfield Citizen-News
Jan. 5, 1994

Unclaimed Memories is an installation, which is dedicated to the homeless who have died unclaimed and are ignored even in death.

Approximately 5,000 authentic toe tags issued by the state of Connecticut are installed on the walls and hung from iron nails. Toe tags are the only marker to identify their existence

Unclaimed Memories - 1997
official toe tags, iron stakes, footstones, rubber

detail

"Ahrens, is a conceptual artist who examines social issues with found objects and everyday materials. She explores the underlying realities of homelessness, poverty and social unrest through materials that evoke subjective reactions from the viewer.”

Carolee Ross, The Advocate and Greenwich Time
January 3, 1999