Vic Haven – Landscapes of intersections, forces and systems

Asteroids (detail), 2006 & Pressure Drop (detail), 2005

In works like Asteroids and Pressure Drop Vic Haven employs the intersection of lines to create the illusion of distorted tessellations and crystal-like structures. If the ordered flat plane dynamics of a decorative Moorish tiling was allowed to unravel under an imagined elastic tension the resultant pattern might bare a lot in common with Asteroids. The system of tensile forces pull apart the network apart to create the illusion of a non-uniform fa̤ade Рin between negative star (or Asteroid) shaped spaces are formed from the tangle.

This segmentation and triangulation technique is used in profusion in much of Vic’s work. In Infrastructure, mirrored Mylar on Polypropylene is cut to create a landscape dense with the connections of possible transportation links or power supply lines. But, as the exhibition statement reminds us, these links might also demarcate invisible structures – communication networks or even moral/religious belief systems.