Asterisms

Like Michael Sailstorfer's Forst I wrote about yesterday, Gabriel Orozco's commisioned project Asterisms at Deutsche Guggenheim also depicts the tension between artificial systems and nature.  Asterisms consists of two components: Sandstars and Astroturf Constellation, each being a two-part sculptural/photographic installation.  Isla Arena is a wildlife reserve on the Pacific coast of Mexico.  Ocean currents constantly deposit industrial and commercial waste from across the Pacific to the Isla shore. Orozco created Sandstars by collecting the refuse from the beach, documenting them on photographs, and arranging the nearly 1200 found objects taxonomically on the gallery floor.  Astroturf Constellation was created in a similar way but on a much smaller scale.  It was generated from a collection of miniscule bits of debris found on the astroturf of a playing field in New York.  The oscillation of scale between the macro and the micro constellations of found objects makes the viewing an interesting experience.

Orozco at Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin 2012: