All That Is Solid

2019

Space p11, Chicago, IL. A partner program to the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial. Curated by Jonathan Solomon and David Hays.

Exhibition

All That Is Solid is a site-specific installation in the Chicago Pedway that explores the material afterlives of modern consumption. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam is a man-made polymer that is composed of 98 percent air. Developed during World War II for use on military aircrafts, it was heralded as a miracle material that defied conventional production constraints like weight, cost and shelf life. Once a symbol for 20th-century convenience, foam products are increasingly banned from municipal recycling programs due to the high cost involved in transporting and processing it. Using EPS diverted from plastic recycling networks in the greater Chicago area, the exhibition presents a series of roving building blocks whose monolithic forms recall the material systems of global supply chains. By bringing a sample of this uniquely modern building material into the space of the gallery, the installation invites the public to reflect on our shifting cultural definitions of waste and worth, resource and refuse.

Project Team: Nina Shabalina, Korynn Newville, Biyun Feng, Vince Tong, Emily Weiser, Lanye Luo and Raven Xu.

Material Consultants: Chicago Logistics Service.

Photography: Nathan Keay