Reach Away to the Bottom Being, 2008

Joel Hurlburt has always been interested in combinations, and the space between things. He attempts to navigate between plausibility and the improbable, rather than relying on pure fantasy or strictly replicated reality. The uncanny form functions as a phenomenological reminder of the independent aspect of the life of the brain. A desire to question uses of materials and objects, to question the knowledge and beliefs which viewers bring to things, led to an interest in perception and cognition studies. This interest though is not purely intellectual. In recent years a family connection to neurological disease has come to light, from which subtitle narratives have been derived. The stoic New England family from which he comes and the reserved affect under which it´s men labor, harbors undisclosed suffering beneath a seemingly impenetrable surface. Subjects of masculinity, memory, and spatial perception are recurring themes in his work, and are informed by philosophical texts and writers including Gertrude Stein and Walt Whitman. The results are forms of physical contemplation, reflecting a wandering search for answers through humble means.

Exhibited at Gallery ID:I, in Stockholm, Sweden, 2008