dustin yellin offers a vision of space exploration suspended in glass

the children’s museum of the arts (CMA) presents the installation of ‘scale: possibilities of perspective’. the exhibition explores ‘the notion of scale and its ability to alter our impressions of the universe and our existence inside it’. featured is the latest piece by brooklyn-based artist dustin yellin entitled ‘building a rocket under a waterfall’.

dustin yellin is best known for his chimerical landscape tableaus formed from detailed imagery suspended within laminated glass. his intricate, three dimensional collage-works display visions of speculative futures and uncanny environments. the immense level of detail invites the viewer to explore energetic scenes, frozen in action. yellin’s technique of laying two dimensional imagery within multiple layers of glass introduces an unfamiliar sense of depth and perspective.

yellin’s ‘building a rocket under a waterfall’ envisions a collaborative endeavor toward space exploration within the context of an ecological disaster. cutaway land reveals fragments of antiquities embedded deep into the earth. the piece recalls memories of humanity’s past while offering an unassured sense of anticipation toward its future. 

the sculpture is constructed from 33 layers of glass and weighs approximately 1,400 lbs. the use of paint as well as magazine clippings lends a visual dichotomy of ephemerality and sharp clarity. it is part of a larger series entitled ‘seven parts’ which yellin has been creating for the past 18 months. the exhibition at CMA in new york is on view until september 9, 2018.