Stasis Suits

Abstract

This project is an exploration of fragility and safety, using artificial protective membranes as material and form. The work is concerned with situations of ‘stasis’ - defined as a time loop, a medical term for a blockage, and as described by Georgio Agamben via Hito Steyerl, as deliberately maintained instability. I examine the production of hazardous material and futile mitigation efforts as examples of this kind of stasis - problems caused and maintained by the same agents. This project focuses on empty gestures of protection; using hazmat or cleanroom suits as form and metaphor, I compare properties of living membranes and the simulation of those membranes by the makers of protective gear. The research concerns E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (now DOWDuPont) for its technological innovations in membrane manufacturing and its history of rampant pollution. This research and the accompanying artwork looks critically at a surface as a boundary, as a means of concealment, and as superficial protection.