Chanté Burch

Visual Description for "c-x"

A small concrete base sits on the floor with two vertical metal rods protruding out of it. Each rod connects to a smaller rod that supports plaster-casted hands. These hands are resting upon a small rotating platform coated in sandpaper. The friction between the sandpaper and the hands causes the hands to slowly erode.

 






Chanté Burch is a multidisciplinary artist and designer, born and raised in Salt Lake City. They are currently attending the University of Utah. Their practice mainly consists of digital or performance-based work in mediums such as web, sonics, motion graphics, and dance. Recently branching their practice to include physical making, they typically include technology in their work. Research and experimentation are the foundations of their practice. They seek to create simple yet impactful work from ephemeral or intangible phenomena.

Artist Statement: "The piece I created for this exhibition is called c-x. It focuses on ideas of cleanliness, compulsion, and ritual surrounding disinfecting the body. I decided to use hands as the main subject for this piece. I did this due to the ubiquitous and public nature of hand hygiene. In 2020 hand sanitizer sales went up by about 600%, signaling a massive change to people’s hand hygiene rituals. COVID altered feelings of cleanliness. The use of hand sanitizers and antibacterial soaps while immediately easing the stress of feeling contaminated, can have unintended consequences. Skin issues and accidental ingestion are personal examples of negative effects. Damage to the environment, water sources, and the creation of antimicrobial resistance are large-scale consequences. In this kinetic sculpture, the continuous movement of the base will slowly erode the hands leaving behind dust and fragments."