Derick Melander

Every now and then I come across an artist that is doing something a little different from everybody else yet creating pieces that have at first glance at least, the comforting feeling of home.

Who doesn’t relax around huge pillars of color gradiated folded clothes, or shoes set politely in a circle

Here is a blurb from Derick Melanders ‘Artists Statment’ on his site

Statement

I create large geometric configurations from carefully folded and stacked second-hand clothing. These structures take the form of wedges, columns and enclosures, typically weighing between five hundred pounds and one ton. Many of these pieces directly interact with the surrounding architecture and sometimes create discrete environments of their own.

As clothing wears, fades, stains and stretches it becomes an intimate record of our physical presence. It traces the edge of the body, defining the boundary between the individual and the outside world.

The clothing used for these works is folded to exact dimensions and categorized by various criteria. For example, the order can relate to the way we layer the clothing we wear or the clothing can be sorted by color, gender or demographic. sculptural components are sometimes connected together with shirt sleeves, pant legs and belts to form bridge-like appendages.

For me, the process of folding and stacking the individual garments adds a layer of meaning to the work. When I come across a dress with a hand-sewn repair, or a coat with a name written inside the collar, the work starts to feel like a collective portrait. As the layers of clothing accumulate, the individual garments are compressed into a single mass, a symbolic gesture that explores the conflicted space between society and the individual.

Derick Melander Flesh of My Flesh 2008 fabric 2′ x 2′ x 10′ (photo cortasy of the artist)

This huge piece was created especially for the Richmond’s ADA Gallery and it will be exhibited as a Special Project at SCOPE from December 3rd through the 7th. The name of this piece is from one of the tee shirts in the middle of the pile that has this sentence printed on it.

The way this piece was named is in my eyes somewhat magical - or maybe that is not the right word at all.

The fact that he carefully folds each piece of clothing, noticing its color, texture, tag, decoration, whether it has been mended or not - really makes him intimate in a way with each and every person who wore one of these clothes - he is taking there passed, folding it up, and storing it with the appropriate respect, and then turning it into something so completely different than it ever was before.

I am completely charmed.

Thanks  jameswagner.com