Installation in the Small Space, June 13 – July 27, 2024
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Garrett Compton Daniells
Many Hands
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Garrett Compton Daniells: Many Hands (2021-2024)
Garrett Compton Daniells' installation, Many Hands (2021-2024), emerges as a testament to resilience and community in the face of personal adversity. Created during Daniells' recovery from a near-death experience, the installation features numerous clay hands crafted in a repetitive, meditative process over a period of several years. Each hand symbolizes not only the artist's journey through trauma, disability, addiction and mental health struggles but also serves as a universal metaphor for collective human experience in times of hardship.
The choice of clay, a fragile yet malleable material, underscores themes of vulnerability and strength. Daniells' statement that "Many Hands" is a "time-based body of work" highlights the evolving nature of healing and growth after profound life challenges. The installation transcends its materiality, incorporating common materials like plywood and nails, which symbolize perseverance and the will to survive using any means necessary, drawing parallels to the predicament of individuals facing homelessness and addiction.
In "Many Hands," Daniells invites viewers to contemplate the interconnectedness of human suffering and solidarity. The suspended ceramics evoke a sense of precariousness, yet also embody persistence and the potential for rebuilding. Through this evocative installation, Daniells encourages empathy and reflection on the shared human experience of overcoming adversity, reminding us that, despite our scars and struggles, we can be the supportive "many hands" for each other in times of need.
The choice of clay, a fragile yet malleable material, underscores themes of vulnerability and strength. Daniells' statement that "Many Hands" is a "time-based body of work" highlights the evolving nature of healing and growth after profound life challenges. The installation transcends its materiality, incorporating common materials like plywood and nails, which symbolize perseverance and the will to survive using any means necessary, drawing parallels to the predicament of individuals facing homelessness and addiction.
In "Many Hands," Daniells invites viewers to contemplate the interconnectedness of human suffering and solidarity. The suspended ceramics evoke a sense of precariousness, yet also embody persistence and the potential for rebuilding. Through this evocative installation, Daniells encourages empathy and reflection on the shared human experience of overcoming adversity, reminding us that, despite our scars and struggles, we can be the supportive "many hands" for each other in times of need.
Artist's Statement
Many Hands is a time based body of work that explores a repetitious process as a means of navigating the survival of a near death experience, disability, and the subsequent growth through the pain. Trauma, guilt, and shame surrounding addiction and mental health are present while attempting to explore hope and rebuilding when we get picked up and put together after we fall.
Common materials like plywood and nails are elevated and come from my background as a fabricator but can also be read as using any means necessary to build and survive, much like our houseless neighbors on the streets, usually addicted and suffering. These people and myself, all of us at times, are the fragile ceramics hanging in suspension. We can be the many hands for each other, even when we’re beaten, scarred, and bloodied.
Thanks to my mom, uncle, dad, stepmom, and brother for being there for me when I fell.
Thanks to all of my chosen family for keeping me around through a lot of pain.
Special thanks to Jackie Bahnsen at Hatch Workshop in my hometown of Stockton, California for firing all of these pieces and giving me a place to work while I recovered from my accident.
Thanks to Transmission Gallery in Oakland for giving me a place to show this.
- Garrett Compton Daniells
Common materials like plywood and nails are elevated and come from my background as a fabricator but can also be read as using any means necessary to build and survive, much like our houseless neighbors on the streets, usually addicted and suffering. These people and myself, all of us at times, are the fragile ceramics hanging in suspension. We can be the many hands for each other, even when we’re beaten, scarred, and bloodied.
Thanks to my mom, uncle, dad, stepmom, and brother for being there for me when I fell.
Thanks to all of my chosen family for keeping me around through a lot of pain.
Special thanks to Jackie Bahnsen at Hatch Workshop in my hometown of Stockton, California for firing all of these pieces and giving me a place to work while I recovered from my accident.
Thanks to Transmission Gallery in Oakland for giving me a place to show this.
- Garrett Compton Daniells
More About Garrett Compton Daniells
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TRANSMISSION GALLERY
OAKLAND 770 West Grand Ave., Suite A, Oakland, CA 94612 Open Thurs-Sat, 12 to 5 pm till 8 pm on the first Friday of the month and by appointment Accessibility: This a 2nd floor art gallery, accessible by stairs. |
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