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Nodes of Temporary Assembly | Elena Gorn | Interdisciplinary Artist

Nodes of Temporary Assembly

Spatial installation, 2026
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Spatial installation. Canvas, local soil, fixative, cotton cords, metal fixings; archival module — a transparent cube containing local soil and a tablet displaying photographic observation sheets in digital form.

The project examines the mechanisms of constructing life in a new environment under conditions where stability is not given in advance. The focus is on dynamic equilibrium: uneven stability that is not guaranteed by the urban environment, but requires continuous maintenance through embodied practices and routes. My position is formulated in the thesis: “I am my routes.”

Local soil collected along urban routes is rubbed into the surface of the canvas through body weight, repeated steps, and pressure. Embodied action introduces the soil into the material, while the route is recorded on the canvas as a document of presence.

The tearing of the canvas marks the breakdown of the previous system of stability. The canvas loses its original integrity and its capacity to hold itself through its own structure. A new integrity emerges through stitching: cross-shaped stitches hold the tear and the tension of the fabric, while linear stitches restore rhythm through repetition and pause.

In the final installation, the canvas moves from a plane into a spatial form and is held by a system of cords, knots, tensions, and fixing points. The form is assembled between body, material, and place. Stability here is not a permanent state — it lasts only as long as the act of holding continues.

The archival module reveals the methodology of the project. The transparent cube containing local soil preserves a material fragment of the route, while the tablet displaying photographic observation sheets in digital form shows how field selection develops into an artistic decision and the final spatial form.

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