Simone Jones

CLEAR AND DANGER
05.11–06.17.2000

Created during a residency in the summer of 1998 at the Est-Nord-Est center in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, the piece presented by Simone Jones is titled “Clear and Danger.” Made from nails salvaged from railroad tracks, this wall-mounted sculpture also has a kinetic element. Powered by a motor mounted on the ceiling, the suspended nails move to hammer against a sheet of plywood. Both auditory and visual, this object evokes the power of one of the oldest technological inventions: the train.

Throughout the duration of the exhibition, the dynamic movement of the nails striking the wall will leave marks on it, but it may very well also slowly destroy it. There is something violent, even somewhat terrifying, about this installation. This is precisely what the artist intends and seeks to convey to the viewer. For her, it is the power of the machine that is expressed here and called into question. The impression that the machine’s action is out of control allows her to challenge or refute the notion that our relationship with technology is entirely under control. Is this confidence conditioned by the promise that humans will be replaced by machines? In any case, the question of control and the power of technology lies at the heart of this piece and challenges the viewer on a physical level.

Indeed, mechanical devices constructed from imposing, strong, and massive materials—such as those used by Jones—maintain and require the physical presence of the viewer or user. Perhaps this is what alarms the artist and what seems to be disappearing along with the aesthetic aspect of today’s digital technologies.

Sonia Pelletier